‘VBY 356E’ – set to go under the Hampson hammer at Bolesworth Castle on 9 March – may look surprisingly familiar to either film buffs or dyed in the wool Arsenal supporters. That’s because it’s an officially sanctioned ‘Gone in Sixty Seconds‘ ‘Eleanor’ recreation and was owned for close to 10 years by one Thierry Henry.
‘VBY 356E’ was built in 2009 by Classic Recreations of Flower Mound, Texas using an original 1967 Ford Mustang shell and painstakingly hand built with over 2,500 craftsman hours expended in its creation. ‘VBY 356E’ possesses the all important official sanction of ‘Gone in Sixty Seconds‘ producer, Denise Haliki as well as featuring her Sharpie-inscribed signature on the dashboard. Thierry Henry owned ‘VBY 356E’ from 2010 to 2019, while the current keeper has enjoyed this remarkable car for around five years. ‘VBY356E’ drives impressively and sounds incredible as can be witnessed in the recent “Iain Tyrrell’s Classic Workshop” YouTube video. Iain describes the experience as “visceral” with a huge grin never leaving his face.
Those unfamiliar with the 2000 film ‘Gone in Sixty Seconds‘, starring Nicolas Cage, may need a formal introduction to ‘Eleanor’. The film’s plot revolves around 48 cars that need to be stolen to order within 48 hours, the last, most elusive car being a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 named ‘Eleanor’. In the film ‘Eleanor’ was specially modified by legendary American customiser, Chip Foose. Such was the popularity of the film, and the 1974 original, that ‘Eleanor’ recreations became sought after with only the best receiving the official ‘Gone in Sixty Seconds‘ license.
‘VBY 356E’ is a very faithful recreation of the film car, officially named in the credits. It features the full ‘Eleanor’ body kit, DuPont Pepper Grey livery with black Le Mans stripes as well as the low mounted twin driving lamps. The originality even extends to a Nitrous Oxide tank in the boot (not operational) which mimics the one in the film which was deployed by a “go baby, go” button. The sublime interior is finished in black vinyl with Scat front seats, roll bar and five point racing harnesses. The dash and centre console are finished in brushed aluminium and a wooden rimmed steering wheel is fitted. A contemporary Kenwood sound system is fitted with subwoofer and supplemental amplifiers.
‘VBY 356E’ is by no means all show and no go, either, as Iain Tyrrell soon found. This ‘Eleanor’ is fitted with a 302 cubic inch, small block Ford V8 compete with AFR cylinder heads, a dual plane inlet manifold and a 600 CFM Holley carburettor. A racing Canton oil pan with internal baffles is fitted as is a full serpentine belt system with aluminium pulleys. This combination is thought to deliver around 350 – 400 bhp through a five-speed manual gearbox. An aluminium radiator with twin electric cooler fans, side exit exhaust system and adjustable shock absorbers are also present.
The vendor rates mechanical and aesthetic aspects of ‘VBY 356E’ as ‘excellent’ with only the interior being rated as ‘good’. What better way to walk in the well-heeled footsteps of both Thierry Henry and Nicolas Cage than putting this superb official ‘Eleanor’ evocation on your drive?
Estimate: £140,000-£160,000.
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