February 2011: HISTORICS EARNS ITS SPURS
Having closed its books on a 100+ collection of cars for its forthcoming auction on March 3rd, Historics recently added a stunning 1967 Shelby GT500 Fastback Mustang 'Eleanor' owned by Tottenham Hotspur footballer, Benoit Assou-Ekotto.
Immortalised in the film 'Gone in 60 Seconds' starring Nicholas Cage, the Shelby Mustang known as 'Eleanor' was the ultimate 'steal' for Cage who played a retired professional car thief, forced back to work after his younger brother had upset his rather unfriendly employer! Based on the 1967 Shelby GT500 fastback, the 'Eleanor' was a modernised variant with serious power and could be considered the ultimate Mustang.
The vendor of this spectacular 'Eleanor' is Benoît Pierre David Assou-Ekotto, born on 24th March 1984 in Arras, France and a French born Cameroonian footballer who plays for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. At the age of 10, Assou-Ekotto followed his brother Matthieu in signing for Lens, before making his bow for the first-team at the start of the 2003-04 season.
At the start of the 2005-06 season, he played in all of Lens' games in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, as they won that tournament and secured a place in that season's UEFA Cup. In the 2005-06 season, he was an almost ever-present for Lens in the league missing just four of 38 league games as his team finished fourth and again qualified for the UEFA Cup. Assou-Ekotto's outstanding performances throughout the season led to him being praised as one of the best left backs in the country.
In the summer of 2006, Assou-Ekotto moved to Tottenham Hotspur for an undisclosed fee. Spurs boss Martin Jol and former club sporting director Damien Comolli described him as one of the brightest prospects in French football at that time.
In an interview with 'The Sun' back in Novemeber 2010, Assou-Ekotto confirmed himself 'as a genuine petrol head, whose pride and joy is the car from hit flick Gone In 60 Seconds.'
Read the interview here - http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3225335/Benoit-Assou-Ekotto-says-football-cheats-drive-him-mad.html
This impressive lefthand drive 'Eleanor' is finished in DuPont Pepper grey coachwork with air brushed 8 inch black stripes and black leather interior. The modified bodywork consists of an Eleanor bonnet, boot, extended wheelarches, sills and rear bumper. The engine is a Ford 351ci V8(5.7L) Windsor unit built by The Engine Factory USA with Hypereutectic pistons, 9:7:1 compression ratio, speed pro piston rings, shot-peened conrods and Crane overhead camshafts. The cylinder head is an Edelbrock unit with 2.02/1 valves and Comp Cams magnum roller rockers with fuel supplied by Edelbrock 800cfm four-barrel carburetors and cooled by a Pro Aluminium radiator with twin 12-inch fans. The engine is said to produce 400bhp @ 5000rpm. The gearbox is a TCI Street Fighter C4 three speed automatic with Super Street Fighter torque converter with a B&M shifter. The detail of this car is exceptional and one look underneath the car reveals an impressive suspension setup with Heidts 9 inch fully independent rear suspension, limited slip differential and uprated springs and dampers finished in chrome.
The front brakes are Bear Six-pot calipers with 13 inch grooved and drilled discs and the rear are Heidts inboard discs and four-pot calipers. The wheels are 17 inch Halibrand style alloys.
The seats are trimmed in black leather and the dashboard houses Stewart Warner gauges, movie based gear knob switches and fire extinguisher, full Pioneer in car audio eight-speaker sound system and an original wooden three-spoke steering wheel.
The vendor of this spectacular 'Eleanor' is Benoît Pierre David Assou-Ekotto, born on 24th March 1984 in Arras, France and a French born Cameroonian footballer who plays for Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur. At the age of 10, Assou-Ekotto followed his brother Matthieu in signing for Lens, before making his bow for the first-team at the start of the 2003-04 season.
At the start of the 2005-06 season, he played in all of Lens' games in the UEFA Intertoto Cup, as they won that tournament and secured a place in that season's UEFA Cup. In the 2005-06 season, he was an almost ever-present for Lens in the league missing just four of 38 league games as his team finished fourth and again qualified for the UEFA Cup. Assou-Ekotto's outstanding performances throughout the season led to him being praised as one of the best left backs in the country.
In the summer of 2006, Assou-Ekotto moved to Tottenham Hotspur for an undisclosed fee. Spurs boss Martin Jol and former club sporting director Damien Comolli described him as one of the brightest prospects in French football at that time.
In an interview with 'The Sun' back in Novemeber 2010, Assou-Ekotto confirmed himself 'as a genuine petrol head, whose pride and joy is the car from hit flick Gone In 60 Seconds.'
Read the interview here - http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3225335/Benoit-Assou-Ekotto-says-football-cheats-drive-him-mad.html
This impressive lefthand drive 'Eleanor' is finished in DuPont Pepper grey coachwork with air brushed 8 inch black stripes and black leather interior. The modified bodywork consists of an Eleanor bonnet, boot, extended wheelarches, sills and rear bumper. The engine is a Ford 351ci V8(5.7L) Windsor unit built by The Engine Factory USA with Hypereutectic pistons, 9:7:1 compression ratio, speed pro piston rings, shot-peened conrods and Crane overhead camshafts. The cylinder head is an Edelbrock unit with 2.02/1 valves and Comp Cams magnum roller rockers with fuel supplied by Edelbrock 800cfm four-barrel carburetors and cooled by a Pro Aluminium radiator with twin 12-inch fans. The engine is said to produce 400bhp @ 5000rpm. The gearbox is a TCI Street Fighter C4 three speed automatic with Super Street Fighter torque converter with a B&M shifter. The detail of this car is exceptional and one look underneath the car reveals an impressive suspension setup with Heidts 9 inch fully independent rear suspension, limited slip differential and uprated springs and dampers finished in chrome.
The front brakes are Bear Six-pot calipers with 13 inch grooved and drilled discs and the rear are Heidts inboard discs and four-pot calipers. The wheels are 17 inch Halibrand style alloys.
The seats are trimmed in black leather and the dashboard houses Stewart Warner gauges, movie based gear knob switches and fire extinguisher, full Pioneer in car audio eight-speaker sound system and an original wooden three-spoke steering wheel.