When you mention Carroll Shelby, most enthusiasts think of the Cobra that he created back in the 1960s; younger enthusiasts might think of the Ford Mustangs that wore his name down the side. But there will also be a select few who will remember Shelby’s days with Mopar – back in the mid 1980s when the government was more into FWD economy cars and emission controls.

During the early 1980s, peak horsepower on many V8 musclecars was below 200, and gearheads were busy trying to find loopholes in California smog laws with their engine swaps.

But back in Detroit, Dodge had an ace up its sleeve when they brought Carroll Shelby on board to create some powerful vehicles that gave the big dogs a run for their money. Dodge was out of NASCAR, and nearly their entire lineup was FWD – not a single RWD musclecar was to be had. So Mr. Shelby turned to the Pentastar for some tuning and pruning on cars like the Dodge Charger, Daytona, Lancer, Omni, Shadow, and the Dakota pickup.

When the new Charger and Daytona came out they weren’t well received amongst Mopar purists because they were FWD, and they weren’t musclecars like their namesake would imply. But when Carroll Shelby added his name to these models it made a little bit of the hurt go away, and Dodge had put out some very fast and potent little economy cars.

When the Shelby GLH-S hit the scene, nobody was expecting a 175 horsepower econobox that could spank half the V8s out on the road. 0-60 times for this brick of a car was listed as just 6.5 seconds, and the quarter mile came in under 15 seconds. Keep in mind, the Mustang was only putting out 165-175 horsepower in the early 1980s, so these turbocharged and intercooled beasts from Mopar gave the Camaro, Firebird, and Mustang some unwanted competition.

Finally, the three pony cars began to see some much needed and big improvements in the mid-to-late 1980s when horsepower eclipsed the 200 mark again and musclecars were making a comeback. Many people don’t remember those times – they’re better forgotten and left behind because the if you ask any gearhead about a musclecar, it has to be over 200 horsepower – as well as RWD.

Shelby Dodges are an extremely rare sight these days; they aren’t often seen at musclecar shows and they don’t fit into import shows, either. They’re the bastard children of a time long ago when Mopar wanted to get back on the scene that they had abandoned when they left NASCAR. So it was interesting when we came upon four low-mileage Shelby Dodges that are coming up for auction in March.

Found on Allpar.com, these four Shelbys belong to one reader who bought the cars brand new from the dealer and then took them home to a climate-controlled garage and parked them, leaving everything intact such as the factory window stickers and the plastic protectors for the seats and steering wheels.

While they aren’t really musclecars, they do have a very significant footprint in the Mopar timeline that makes these cars very special. Sure, they’re small and FWD (aside from the Dakota) but they still attract a bit of attention nonetheless.

The 1987 Shelby Lancer could be had in any color as long as it was Graphic Red. It had blacked out trim, “Shelby” and “Intercooled Turbo” lettering, and larger sway bars. Performance tires and a stiffer suspension aided in handling for this car, and it was aimed at some pretty stiff competition as a “world-class” sedan: BMW and Mercedes. Half of the limited production of 800 cars came with a three-speed automatic, the other half had five-speed manuals.

Inside the car you’ll find sport seating and all the accoutrements you’d expect from a luxury car, including a 10-speaker sound system. This one is expected to see between $20-30,000 when it hits the block March 27th.

A pair of Shelby CSXs (Carroll Shelby eXperimental) are also hitting the same Auction, a 1987 and a 1989 model. Shelby aimed to prove that you could take a typical FWD economy sedan and turn it into a performance car reaching 130 mph, and still get great economy at the same time.

The AirResearch T3 turbocharger on the ’87 provided up to 12.0 psi of boost; the ’89 received a Garrett turbocharger, both of which gave these cars V8-like acceleration with virtually no turbo lag. The 1989 model concluded Shelby’s involvement with Dodge, though he did continue in an advisory role with Chrysler in the years that followed.

Finally, the 1989 Shelby Dakota was a unique vehicle altogether. It was the first time in 20 years that Carroll Shelby had worked on a RWD platform with V8 power under the hood, and the fact that it was a pickup truck made it even more unique.

With just 1,500 of these Shelby pickups built, they were available in red or white only. Going on the “there’s no replacement for displacement” theme, the original 3.9L V6 engine was removed for a more potent 5.2L V8 with throttle body injection.

The truck was built to perform, and that included a handling package and Goodyear Eagle GT+4 tires and gas-charged shock absorbers. The truck was built as an in-your-face attempt to intimidate musclecar owners of that era, and it paved the way for future performance trucks like the Cyclone and Lightning.

Each of these Shelbys will be hitting the blocks at Auction America on March 27th, and each of these four vehicles shows just 20-30 miles on the clock, and are extremely well preserved. If you’re an enthusiast collector or just a Shelby connoisseur, you can have your pick or take them all, but bring a big checkbook with you.