Concept cars tend to have very limited shelf life. Even a popular concept will generally last only one, maybe two car show seasons at most. Once it has made the rounds and wowed the crowds, it usually is either locked away in some hidden vault, or worse, crushed. It is an ignoble end for cars that truly capture the imagination and offer a glimpse into the future of the automobile.

Sometimes however, these rare rides make it into the hands of collectors, like what happened this previous weekend at RM’s Monterey auction. Ford put a number of concept cars up for auction, including the Mustang GT-R, which sold for $110,000 according to Motor Trend.

We’ve already gone over the Mustang GT-R, Ford’s 2004 concept car that came out just prior to the release of the all-new 2005 Mustang. With an adjustable coil-over suspension and 440 horsepower 5.0 liter engine (hmm, sound familiar?) it was designed as a track-ready solution for Mustang racers everywhere. We’re actually rather surprised it sold for just $110,000, considering it was a precursor to the current generation Mustang.

The rest of the Ford concept car lineup was also a bit of a letdown in the sales department, as many of these concepts were expect to go for over $100,000. The super-sleek Mercury Messenger sold for just $52,250, while the supercharged Thunderbird concept went for a cool $66,000. The best looking of the bunch, the really-retro Ford Forty-Nine concept sold for just $67,100. The proceeds from this auction of concept cars will go to Ford’s favorite non-profits, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and The Children’s Center.