The seller claims today’s CSX is the first one ever, and has a dash plaque to back it up. Let’s see if this hot Dodge will have you backing up a trailer-full of cash.

The deforestation of the Brazilian rainforest has been ongoing at an alarming rate for decades. The main cause? The need for grazing land for livestock. My theory is that those are to cater to all the churrasco (meat on a sword) restaurants.

That loss of a national natural treasure is certainly odd in a country that otherwise doesn’t seem too keen on letting things go. That facet of the South American nation was evident with yesterday’s , a Volkswagen that Brazil kept around a looooong time after the rest of the min-bus loving world had moved on. They might have seen the Kombi as a keeper, but fully 70-percent of you felt you’d rather hang on to the $9,200 the seller of this one was asking, and hence it went down in a Crack Pipe loss, our second of the week.

Carroll Shelby might not have made it all the way down to Brazil, but he did do business in Mexico. That started when a Mexican industrialist named Eduardo Velasquez bought what is thought to have been one of two 1965 Mustang notchbacks that Shelby had been using to prototype the suspension for his hot pony, the GT350.

Velasquez campaigned the 289-powered car in Mexico, racking up a series of first place finishes. So impressed was he with the car that Velasquez struck a deal with Shelby, first becoming the Shelby parts distributor in Mexico, and then the builder of a series of , and later Shelby Mavericks.

That’s just one example of what can arise from the purchase of a Shelby prototype. Today we might just have another opportunity.

What we have here is a that is claimed by its seller to be the Ur-CSX, with a badge on the dash that says “CSX Proto 1” and Shelby’s signature because the guy signed shit the way Donald J. Trump drops tweets.

What the hell is a CSX? Why, it’s the forgotten Dodge that ‘Ol Shel infused with performance bonafides back when he was partnered up with his long-time buddy, Lee Iacocca over at Chrysler. Shelby had already massaged the Omni compact into the GLH and later GLHS, and when that car was replaced by the Shadow his tuner shop worked their magic on the successor car as well. This one is supposedly one of the cars where they figured out all those mods.

The CSX came with a Shelby modded edition of the 2.2-litre Turbo I four, with a number of Turbo II parts to boost power to 175-bhp over the stock mill’s 142. A five-speed transaxle sent those ponies to the front wheels, as they do.

Other CSX upgrades included 15-inch alloy wheels, coil-over Monroe shocks and struts, and special brake valving for a more aggressive pedal. All of that was wrapped in special paint, lower body cladding, and a rear spoiler on the hidden hatch.

This one seems to have all that, and an interior that features updated Shelby-branded Recaro seats. The ad notes that the paint is not all that great, but that it’s at least free of dings or rust. I’ll be honest with you, whenever I see blue trim like on this car’s bumpers I get the urge to peel it off as it looks like that protective film that’s so satisfying to remove. The badging and decals all look to be intact, and there is that “Proto 1” plaque on the dash.

The ad says it runs strong and will “drive anywhere without issue.” I take issue with that as three-quarters of the Earth’s surface is covered in water and I don’t think you could drive it there.

The Monroes have been replaced by Konis and there is the issue with the seats not being original. Does that matter here? Also, what’s up the watermark that the seller has covered over in the interior shot? Mileage goes undisclosed, but the ad says it comes with a clean title.

There are a few things that don’t add up on this car, but then considering the history of people who buy Shelby prototypes, might you not want to take the chance? If so, you’d have to come up with $8,999, as that’s the asking.

What do you think, is this CSX, as presented in its ad, worth that $8,999 price? Or, does that asking make this a proto that’s just not you type?

You decide!

Seattle, WA , or go if the ad disappears.

H/T to MattRFrankenBenz for the hookup!

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