The Shelby GT-500 prototype that inspired the GT/CS Mustang was nicknamed “Little Red.”
The prototype was a red 1967 Shelby GT500 coupe displayed at a Ford preview in Los Angeles in August 1967. Lee Grey, a Ford district sales manager, saw the car and recognized that its styling could help create a special Mustang aimed at California buyers. Little Red reportedly combined bright red paint, a vinyl roof, and a supercharged 428 V8 with a C-6 automatic transmission.
Grey later used the prototype to illustrate his proposal to Lee Iacocca for a California-focused Mustang. Ford and Shelby Automotive developed the resulting GT/CS, or California Special, with features such as side scoops, fog lamps, a distinctive rear treatment, and 1965 Thunderbird-style taillights. The production model was not simply a rebadged Shelby, however: it was based on a Mustang coupe and could be ordered with several regular Mustang powertrains.
A common mix-up is “Green Hornet,” another Shelby coupe prototype built in 1968 from a GT/CS. Little Red was the earlier car and the direct inspiration for the California Special concept. It was rediscovered in Texas in 2018 after being thought lost for decades.