Fender & Ford® Kick Off Play Loud-Go Fast Sweepstakes as Shelby® Stratocaster® Guitar/Car Combo Rocks Barrett-Jackson® to Tune of $600K

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--To mark the beginning of their new partnership, Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and Ford^® Motor Company are “Playing Loud and Going Fast.” The two innovative U.S. companies have banded together to put the SPIRIT OF ROCK-N-ROLL^® on wheels with a unique combo—a Shelby^® GT coupe and matching Shelby^® GT Stratocaster guitar. Two car/guitar pairs have been made; the first pair was auctioned off at the 2007 Barrett-Jackson^® Collector Car Event and brought $600,000, 100 percent of which will go to the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation™. The second pair will be given away to one lucky person who enters the sweepstakes at www.fender.com/ford. Both sets carry actual Ford VIN tags, with the first set showing No. 001 and the sweepstakes set showing No. 100.

The Stratocaster guitars, built in Fender’s Custom Shop in Corona, Calif., by noted Master Builder Christopher Fleming (who has built guitars for rock notables such as Pete Townshend, ZZ Top, John Mayer, Jeff Beck and the Rolling Stones), have a retail value of $20,000 each. Combined with the Shelby^® GT Mustang^®, the total sweepstakes value exceeds $50,000.

“As stunning examples of timeless American design, the Stratocaster and Mustang both have been named American Icons by Rolling Stone magazine in their 35^th Anniversary Icons issue,” said Ritchie Fliegler, Fender Senior Vice President of Market Development. “I own one of each! Play Loud-Go Fast? Those are words to live by in my world!”

The Play Loud-Go Fast Sweepstakes runs through Dec. 31, 2007.