But Carroll Shelby the man could only live so long. Carroll Shelby the brand might live as long as there is interest in what the name represents: speed and power.

The company recently introduced the Shelby GTS, which it calls an "entry-level Shelby" for fans who can't afford the line's more normal $48,000 to $100,000 prices. A GTS, featuring a supercharged V6, retails for about $35,000.

The Shelby GTS offers a more-affordable entry into the world of Shelby performance Mustangs. (Photo: Shelby American)

Internally, the GTS is referred to as "the parts car" because to sell at that price, it comes with fewer Shelby-brand components. The idea is that as Shelby's owner body ages, a younger consumer can buy a GTS and spend years lovingly buying more add-on Shelby parts for it.

1,000-horsepower option

Lest anyone think that smaller engines, lower prices and fuel economy sum up the new order of business at Shelby, the company surprised onlookers in August with the first product offering since the founder's death – the 850-horsepower version of the GT500 Cobra. And just for good measure, the catalog now includes a 1,000-horsepower version of the car, representing a total package delivery cost of about $200,000 once Shelby's technicians enhance the Mustang body with special subframe parts to keep it stable as it reaches speeds of up to 200 mph.

Carroll Shelby had suggested a 1,000-horsepower car. Luft's team created it.

"Sometimes 850 horsepower just isn't enough," says Gary Davis, Shelby's vice president of production and R&D.

Davis, a one-time John Deere tractor dealer in Nebraska, sold his dealership and moved to Las Vegas in the 1990s to be closer to West Coast drag racing and Carroll Shelby. Spending his days hanging around the garage like so many other tourists who come and go through the facility eventually got Davis hired. The company tends to hire and promote managers from outside the auto industry, like Luft himself.

Roger Sorel, vice president of sales, came from a career in field operations at Burger King. Jer Gervasi, vice president of Shelby's parts operations, had worked for the national musical instrument retailer Guitar Center in New York. Gary Patterson, vice president of operations – and a company test driver with the ability to carry on technical conversations while accelerating to 110 mph on deserted Las Vegas surface streets – came from T.J. Maxx.

The limited-edition Shelby 1000, unveiled earlier this year, generates around 1,000 horsepower. (Photo: Shelby American)

All were Shelby fans, if not Shelby owners, and each wanted to be closer to the Shelby factory.

Inside the Las Vegas Speed Shop garage, Davis has a wicked grin as one of his Shelby 1000s is hooked up to a dynamometer for a demonstration. The engine erupts like a Navy fighter jet.

"It's actually 1,100 horsepower, but we don't advertise that," Davis admits when the exploding roar dies down.

"Carroll loved doing this, and so do we. That's why we're all here."

Three business lines

Luft, a large shareholder in the company, is positioning it to move forward in three directions – product development, performance parts and Speed Shop tuning.

The parts business is the most immediate center of attention. The company is overhauling its distribution and retail operations to make it easier for dealers and consumers to order parts.

The company has just gone live with a dealer-only portal on its Web site to let retailers into the system to price parts. Now, a dealer can sit with a showroom customer and discuss equipment upgrades while navigating Shelby's online catalog for options, and place and track orders.

Shelby also has just launched a retail initiative to visit and recruit more dealers around the country. About 1,000 of Ford's dealerships are not Shelby dealers.

"We can't live and die by automaking," Luft says. "But there are a lot of opportunities for us. Only a few thousand people a year will buy a Shelby car. But there are hundreds of thousands of people out there who would like to own one – or at least part of one."

This story originally appeared at Autoweek.