You can buy this carbon-bodied Shelby GT500CR recreation to benefit heart research

High-profile, national nonprofits require considerable resources to operate, especially if they’re performing a medical service, such as children’s hospitals and cancer research organizations. The American Heart Association (AHA) is one such entity conducting research on heart disease prevention, strokes, and other conditions. The AHA runs regular fundraising campaigns, but its latest might be the coolest one to date. There are no boring raffles or prizes here: The AHA is selling a super-limited number of custom Shelby GT500CR recreations.

Texas-based Classic Recreations is building the 10 cars, which are being sold on a first-come, first-served basis at the low, low price of just $625,000. The AHA gets $100,000 from each sale, raising $1 million for its "Life is Why" campaign.

Classic Recreations is building the cars with full carbon fiber bodies, and each one gets red stripes with hand-painted white pinstripes to represent the American Heart Association’s colors. Power comes from a Magnuson VMP Supercharged 5.0-liter Coyote engine, and the output is an impressive 800 horsepower.

A Tremec six-speed gearbox sends that fury to the rear wheels, and Classic Recreations claims a 3.2-second 0-60 mph time with a 189 mph top speed. The car weighs just 3,200 pounds, which, combined with the Wilwood brakes and custom suspension, should make it quite the driver’s machine.

Classic Recreations installs a fully custom interior with sport bucket seats, leather upholstery, and red accent stitching. Each car has a number plate on the dash to note its place in the run of 10, flanked by Carroll Shelby’s signature. And the car is added to the Shelby Registry.

If you’ve got $625,000 and an appetite for a custom Shelby GT500, you can reserve one of the cars now. That said, there will be only 10 of them, and even though they’re an ultra-expensive, super-niche vehicle, it’s hard to imagine that there aren’t at least 10 people willing to spring for one. Besides, it’s a tax write-off ... right?