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A 1968 Shelby GT500 sitting in the street for quite some time, with not a care in the world. That is something that you don’t see every day. The car has been parked there for over three weeks, gathering layers of dust and parking tickets as the owner disappeared without a trace.
It is not an actual Shelby GT500 but a replica resembling the famous Eleanor driven by Nicolas Cage in the 2000 blockbuster “Gone in 60 Seconds.” Cheng is already on his way to a dealership in Santa Clarita, Adrenaline Motorsports, where the car was supposedly purchased. He found out that was where it came from, thanks to the logo on the registration plate at the rear.
However, Google Maps showed that the dealership was permanently closed and there was no sign of any telephone number and no reviews. An address of the former dealer was all he had for the moment. So he is went straight to the Soledad Canyon Road to see for himself.
He arrived there only to see that there was nothing left. The dealership disappeared without a trace, only leaving a deserted land surrounded by a wire fence. Everything was torn down and the place showed no resemblance to what Google Earth displayed. The photos online were of a dealership and its parking lot full of cars.
Meanwhile, the replica of the only Ford Mustang to receive a star title credits in a movie is still sitting abandoned in the street in front of a house in Beverly Hills, with marks on the pavement indicating the day the authorities first saw it. There is no hint that the car belongs to the one living in that house.
Gordon Cheng believes the replica has been parked in the exact same spot for about three weeks. The model wears new tires, which, unfortunately, have not moved for quite some time.
That is exactly why it got the second parking ticket, which reads that the vehicle is subject to impound if not moved within 72 hours from the issuance of the notice. The police inform the owner they have also taken photos of the car and left instructions on the back.
Seventy-two hours later, a police traffic enforcement truck arrives at the scene. But it drives off, and the Shelby GT500 replica is still there. And there is still no trace of the owner.
Cheng has already talked to the parking enforcement employee and the person responsible for towing the vehicle away. They have been trying to figure out who the car belongs to. They knocked at every door in the neighborhood, but nobody seemed to know anything about the car that had been sitting there for weeks.
Even though it has been recently registered, there is no address on file. So, it is obvious that someone is trying to keep the vehicle off the radar. Whoever it belongs to, it needs to get off the street fast.
