The Shelby Lancer was the third model produced at Shelby Automobiles, after the GLHS Omni in '86 and the '87 GLHS Charger and was meaningfully different than its forerunners. Instead of being a no-frills street racer, the Shelby Lancer was aimed squarely at the American market of the BMW 535i and the Mercedes-Benz 2.3 16V. Since it was conceived as a world-class luxury /performance sedan, the Shelby Lancer is somewhat heavier and far more comprehensively equipped than the previous Omni-based models.

The Shelby Lancer was available in one exterior color: Graphic Red accented with model-specific “Shelby” and “Intercooled Turbo” lettering. Blacked-out trim and Shelby 15-inch wheels with black centers completed the look. A Shelby-tuned Turbo II 2.2-liter inline four-cylinder with 175-hp supplied the power, while half of the exclusive 800-car production run was equipped with the five-speed manual gearbox, the other half with the three-speed automatic transmission; such as seen with this particular car.

The Lancer H-body chassis was upgraded with stiffer anti-roll bars, Monroe GP struts, four-wheel disc brakes, and performance tires. The package offered a stiff, but sports-oriented ride with an impressive .85-g rating on the skid-pad. The manual-shift models were fitted with cloth interiors, while the automatics received leather. All examples had a high-end, 10-speaker Pioneer CD audio system, which included one of the first compact disc players offered in an American car.

This particular car is finished in the standard issue (for this car) Graphic Red paint and has gray interior. Sport seats are an interior feature, as are the center console, fold-down rear seat, leather-wrapped steering wheel, air conditioning, two-piece alloy wheels, power windows, door locks and seats.