It’s been a little over a year since Ford announced the return of the Shelby GT350 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and with it the track-prepped GT350R model. Since then the Blue Oval has go on at length about all the technological racing marvels of this new breed of Shelby, but has remained tight-lipped regarding the delivery schedule. Thanks to the Mustang6g.com forums, we can confirm that the first GT350 and GT350R models are arriving at dealerships over the past week.

Images: Ben Treynor

Those dealerships, once again making the case for a direct sales model, are posting huge markups on this first wave of GT350s, with some asking as much as $50,000 over the MSRP. The worst part? Some people will pay it, just to be among the first new owners of this admittedly-exciting Shelby.

The thread is dated November 25th, with mention of the first cars arriving a couple of days earlier by the first posters. It wasn’t long before other members added to the conversation, noting that their local dealers had called them trying to sell the first wave of GT350s and GT350Rs at marked-up prices. While one can make an argument for paying extra to obtain one of the just 37 2015 model year GT350Rs, the already-pricey GT350 starts at $49,995, with the GT350R at $63,495. Taking another another $50,000 to that and you’re well into Dodge Viper and Cadillac CTS-V territory.

But for people like Ben Treynor being among the first Shelby owners is just another day in the life. His Triple Yellow Shelby wears black racing stripes, and since picking it up from the dealer Treynor has posted some of his initial driving impressions. He says of the handling that it is “superb. Balanced, agile, responsive. Car goes exactly where the steering points it. Feels lighter than it is.” He says the 526 horsepower 5.2 liter flat-plane V8 is “very smooth and eager to rev” and calls the sound “delightful”, describing the tone as  “Italian V12 meets American big-displacement V8.” He would know, posting pictures of his new GT350R side-by-side with his Ferrari 599 GT0, a car that starts at $450,000.

Sounds like perhaps the new GT350R may be worth six-figures after all.