Like any other gearheads, we love a good car collection. We have a special admiration for the level of passion and commitment that goes into tracking down, gathering, and maintaining a group of priceless machines. While it’s easy to imagine that all you need is ungodly amounts of money, piecing together a collection full of both significant and relevant cars demands a good deal of knowledge and determination.

An example of such a collection is that belonging to Joe McMurrey, Shelby aficionado and avid collector. Over the many decades he’s been hunting, McMurrey has adopted more than a dozen incredible cars – all with some level of significance to the legend of Carroll Shelby.

But what makes McMurrey’s Shelby-tribute collection a cut above the rest is that it’s a bit more open-minded than you might imagine. As a Shelby collection, the expectation is that it will consist of nothing but classic Cobra’s and GT350s. However, McMurrey took it a step farther by including other cars that carry weight in Shelby history – such as the ’63 Corvette Z06 which sparked the Cobra-Corvette rivalry, or the ’86 Dodge Shleby GLHS that resulted from a historical collaboration between Lee Iacocca and Carroll Shelby himself.

For many years, the Joe McMurrey Collection has been looked to as one of the most well put-together compilations of American icons in the country – even attracting Carroll Shelby for a personal visit in 2011. But now, through Mecum’s 2016 Indianapolis auction in this coming May, McMurrey will be releasing 17 members of his priceless collection to fellow enthusiasts.

Carroll Shelby (left) posing with Joe McMurrey (right) during his visit to McMurrey’s collection.

Each and every car is of incredible value, so we can expect to see McMurrey’s collection bring in some big numbers. But what do you think – if you could only choose one of the 17 cars, which would you take? Tell us in the comments.