- Home
- TV Shows
-
TV Schedule
-
SPEED Showcase
-
- NASCAR
-
- Formula 1
- Auto Racing
- Moto Racing
- Cars
- Bikes
- Store
- Social
- Mobile
- Deals
- Videos
- Photos
Automotive Lifestyle
AUTOS: Carroll Shelby Dies At 89
The builder of Shelby Cobras who beat Ferrari at Le Mans leaves one of the strongest legacies in automotive-performance history.
Carroll Shelby, at the wheel of a new 289 Cobra in 1963, used his common-sense approach to motorsports to create the enduring classic Cobras. (Photo: Ford Archive)
Carroll Shelby, who created one of the greatest auto-racing and performance-car legacies in modern history, died Thursday night at Baylor Hospital in Dallas at the age of 89.
The one-time Texas chicken farmer who became a household name because of his British/American breed of Ford-V8-powered Shelby Cobra sports roadsters, was also the world’s longest-living heart-transplant recipient of more than 20 years.
Besides production of the Shelby Cobra and performance-enhanced Ford Shelby Mustangs, Shelby is known as the man who created the Cobra Daytona Coupes, with bodies designed by a young Peter Brock, and led the team that beat Ferrari to win the World Manufacturer’s Championship in 1965.
The following year, his group won the 24 Hours of LeMans outright with a team of Ford GT40s. Then they did it again in 1967.
It was not Shelby’s first trip to the winner’s circle at LeMans, however. As a driver for Aston Martin teamed up with Roy Salvadori, Shelby helped win the 1959 LeMans while setting a new average-speed record of 112.569.
Shelby is believed to be the only person to win Le Mans as a driver, as a manufacturer and as a team owner.
After the 1959 Le Mans race, Shelby was sidelined from competitive driving for good because of a congenital heart defect. But with his indomitable spirit, he parlayed that disappointment into a world-beating career as a manufacturer of brilliant sports cars and race cars.
Shelby was born Jan. 11, 1923, in Leesburg, Texas, and moved to Dallas with his family when he was seven. He served in the Army Air Corps during WWII as a flight instructor and test pilot. Returning to Texas after the war, he launched several modest careers as an oilfield worker, operator of a dump-truck business and, famously, as a chicken farmer. The chicken-farm venture ended abruptly when after initial success, all his chickens died of limp-neck disease.
After that, Shelby decided to turn his hobby of auto-racing into a full-time endeavor, winning road races in cars that included an MGTC. In the mid-50s, his skills caught the attention of Aston Martin race-team manager John Wyer, who enlisted Shelby into the factory team. He and Salvadori drove a DBR1/300 to victory at Le Mans, where Shelby met the man who would become a lifelong rival, Enzo Ferrari.
Back in the States after revealing his driving-career-ending heart condition, Shelby tried his hand at several auto-related businesses, but he dreamed of building his own performance sports car that would combine the power of an American V8 with the nimble handling of a British roadster.
Shelby finally got his chance in 1961 when the A.C. sports-car company of England lost its main source for engines to power the aluminum-bodied two-seat ACE roadster, and was casting around for a new supplier. Shelby forged a deal with the British automaker, and Ford, which had nothing to compete on the track against the Chevy Corvette, signed on with an agreement to supply its small-block V8 for Shelby’s endeavor.
After re-engineering the AC ACE to handle the V8 power, Shelby American set up shop in Venice, Calif., in March 1962 to produce the Shelby Cobra. In April, the first Shelby Cobra with its 260cid Ford engine was shipped to the New York Auto Show, where it appeared in the Ford display to tremendous acclaim.
The Cobra soon was adapted to Ford’s new small-block engine, the 289, and in 1964, the Cobra received some real muscle with the installation of Ford’s big-block race engine, the 427. That gave the lightweight roadster an acceleration time of zero to 100 in under 13 seconds, according to contemporary reports.
While the 289 and 427 Cobras were being sold to consumers, Shelby American was having great success with them on the race track. The Cobra’s tremendous performance helped Shelby American win nearly every race they entered during the 1963 season. Shelby then turned his eyes to Europe in hopes of beating his nemesis, Ferrari.
But in the 1964 LeMans event, Shelby discovered that the Cobras with bolt-on hard tops did not have the aerodynamics to compete against the streamlined Italian champions, losing position on the three-mile Mulsanne Straight where the Cobras could reach only 150 mph compared with 180 for the Ferrari 250 GTOs. The Ferraris dominated the Cobras and sent Shelby back to America with plans for a more-streamlined coupe version of his race car.
The one-time Texas chicken farmer who became a household name because of his British/American breed of Ford-V8-powered Shelby Cobra sports roadsters, was also the world’s longest-living heart-transplant recipient of more than 20 years.
Besides production of the Shelby Cobra and performance-enhanced Ford Shelby Mustangs, Shelby is known as the man who created the Cobra Daytona Coupes, with bodies designed by a young Peter Brock, and led the team that beat Ferrari to win the World Manufacturer’s Championship in 1965.
The following year, his group won the 24 Hours of LeMans outright with a team of Ford GT40s. Then they did it again in 1967.
It was not Shelby’s first trip to the winner’s circle at LeMans, however. As a driver for Aston Martin teamed up with Roy Salvadori, Shelby helped win the 1959 LeMans while setting a new average-speed record of 112.569.
Shelby is believed to be the only person to win Le Mans as a driver, as a manufacturer and as a team owner.
After the 1959 Le Mans race, Shelby was sidelined from competitive driving for good because of a congenital heart defect. But with his indomitable spirit, he parlayed that disappointment into a world-beating career as a manufacturer of brilliant sports cars and race cars.
Shelby was born Jan. 11, 1923, in Leesburg, Texas, and moved to Dallas with his family when he was seven. He served in the Army Air Corps during WWII as a flight instructor and test pilot. Returning to Texas after the war, he launched several modest careers as an oilfield worker, operator of a dump-truck business and, famously, as a chicken farmer. The chicken-farm venture ended abruptly when after initial success, all his chickens died of limp-neck disease.
After that, Shelby decided to turn his hobby of auto-racing into a full-time endeavor, winning road races in cars that included an MGTC. In the mid-50s, his skills caught the attention of Aston Martin race-team manager John Wyer, who enlisted Shelby into the factory team. He and Salvadori drove a DBR1/300 to victory at Le Mans, where Shelby met the man who would become a lifelong rival, Enzo Ferrari.
Back in the States after revealing his driving-career-ending heart condition, Shelby tried his hand at several auto-related businesses, but he dreamed of building his own performance sports car that would combine the power of an American V8 with the nimble handling of a British roadster.
Shelby finally got his chance in 1961 when the A.C. sports-car company of England lost its main source for engines to power the aluminum-bodied two-seat ACE roadster, and was casting around for a new supplier. Shelby forged a deal with the British automaker, and Ford, which had nothing to compete on the track against the Chevy Corvette, signed on with an agreement to supply its small-block V8 for Shelby’s endeavor.
After re-engineering the AC ACE to handle the V8 power, Shelby American set up shop in Venice, Calif., in March 1962 to produce the Shelby Cobra. In April, the first Shelby Cobra with its 260cid Ford engine was shipped to the New York Auto Show, where it appeared in the Ford display to tremendous acclaim.
The Cobra soon was adapted to Ford’s new small-block engine, the 289, and in 1964, the Cobra received some real muscle with the installation of Ford’s big-block race engine, the 427. That gave the lightweight roadster an acceleration time of zero to 100 in under 13 seconds, according to contemporary reports.
While the 289 and 427 Cobras were being sold to consumers, Shelby American was having great success with them on the race track. The Cobra’s tremendous performance helped Shelby American win nearly every race they entered during the 1963 season. Shelby then turned his eyes to Europe in hopes of beating his nemesis, Ferrari.
But in the 1964 LeMans event, Shelby discovered that the Cobras with bolt-on hard tops did not have the aerodynamics to compete against the streamlined Italian champions, losing position on the three-mile Mulsanne Straight where the Cobras could reach only 150 mph compared with 180 for the Ferrari 250 GTOs. The Ferraris dominated the Cobras and sent Shelby back to America with plans for a more-streamlined coupe version of his race car.
LATEST HEADLINES: AUTOMOTIVE
-
AUTOS: Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta
The Ferrari 166 MM Touring Barchetta, which scored the first Le Mans… -
AUTOS: Score One For Cadillac
Cadillac has truly knocked it out of the ballpark with the stunning… -
AUTOS: Mustang Movie Site Logs Ponycars In Film
More than 3,000 films, TV shows catalogued... -
SPEED Joins GarageMonkey, The New Social Destination For Gearheads…
SPEED is now on GarageMonkey, a social network for auto, moto and… -
F1: Villeneuve's Ferrari 312 T3 Remembered
The Ferrari 312 T3 was used by Gilles Villeneuve to win the Canadian… -
AUTOS: 2014 Chevy SS Priced At $44,470
GM's full-size not just for police... -
AUTOS: Porsche Reveals 911 50th Anniversary Edition
Museum exhibit joins limited-edition model... - More News
