When Ford saw the success Shelby was having using their motors, they asked him to come on board and help them make high-performance cars. Shelby was thus involved with the GT40 racing project, a car which went on to win the Le Mans 24-hour race four times (1966 to 1969). Shelby also went about tweaking the poser Mustang and turned it into a proper performance car. This lead to the creation of the first Shelby Mustang GT350 in 1965, followed by the GT500 in 1967.
Due to tough economic times and rising gas prices, Shelby was not involved with many automotive projects in the 1970s, but in the 1980s his name was to rise once again, this time with Chrysler.
Lee Iacocca, who was the chairman of Chrysler at the time, was a huge fan of Shelby's cars and brought him in to create sporty versions of Dodge models. His first project was the Dodge Shelby Charger of 1983, but Shelby's most memorable work for Dodge was in developing the original Viper R/T-10.
The Viper was a modern take on the original Cobra formula, which is to stick the biggest engine available in a lightweight body, and the result should make for a very rapid car. While Chrysler is releasing a new Viper for 2013, the basic ingredients are the same as cooked up by Shelby.
Shelby had modified and helped develop many cars over the years, but what he hadn't done was to make his own car from scratch. That all changed in the mid-1990s when he started work on his own supercar, the Shelby Series 1.
This car had a chassis and body designed by Shelby and his team and was thus not compromised by someone else's platform. The Series 1 had a race-car style suspension setup, and the whole car was built using a combination of steel, aluminum and carbon-fibre to make it light and strong.
The only things Shelby didn't design from starch on the Series 1 were the engine and gearbox. To the surprise of many, Shelby didn't use a Ford or Chrysler sourced engine for his new car, instead he went to General Motors and got the 4.0-liter, double-over-head-cam V8 that would normally be found under the hood of an Oldsmobile Aurora.
With Shelby's tweaking, this engine produced 320 hp and 290 lb-ft of torque. Shelby also offered supercharger options for this motor, and depending on the tune, delivered between 450 hp and 600 hp.
The Series 1 was a limited-edition car and all 249 examples were built and sold in 1999.
Despite his continued heart problems, and having gone through surgery many times in the last two decades, Shelby was not showing any signs of slowing down. In 2004, he again started work with Ford, and not only helped in developing the new Ford GT supercar, but also began work on faster versions of the new-generation Mustang, which bowed in 2005.
He also lent his name to the stunning Shelby GR-1 concept car, while working on the next Mustang Shelby GT500, which came out as a 2007 model.
Over the years, the GT500 keeps getting better and more powerful. The 2013 Shelby GT500, which is the last car Shelby oversaw himself, develops an astonishing 662 hp. For those who think that is not enough, Shelby American will sell you a Super Snake version, capable of producing 1000 horses.
Apart from cars, Shelby was also devoted to his charity work. The Carroll Shelby Foundation for sick children was formed in 1992, and has raised millions of dollars over the years by hosting chili cook-offs.
Shelby is survived by his wife Cleo, three children, six grand children and six great grand children.
The family has asked that in his memory, to please make donations to the Carroll Shelby Foundation by visiting www.cscf.org.
Shelby was 89.
Due to tough economic times and rising gas prices, Shelby was not involved with many automotive projects in the 1970s, but in the 1980s his name was to rise once again, this time with Chrysler.
Lee Iacocca, who was the chairman of Chrysler at the time, was a huge fan of Shelby's cars and brought him in to create sporty versions of Dodge models. His first project was the Dodge Shelby Charger of 1983, but Shelby's most memorable work for Dodge was in developing the original Viper R/T-10.
The Viper was a modern take on the original Cobra formula, which is to stick the biggest engine available in a lightweight body, and the result should make for a very rapid car. While Chrysler is releasing a new Viper for 2013, the basic ingredients are the same as cooked up by Shelby.
Shelby had modified and helped develop many cars over the years, but what he hadn't done was to make his own car from scratch. That all changed in the mid-1990s when he started work on his own supercar, the Shelby Series 1.
This car had a chassis and body designed by Shelby and his team and was thus not compromised by someone else's platform. The Series 1 had a race-car style suspension setup, and the whole car was built using a combination of steel, aluminum and carbon-fibre to make it light and strong.
The only things Shelby didn't design from starch on the Series 1 were the engine and gearbox. To the surprise of many, Shelby didn't use a Ford or Chrysler sourced engine for his new car, instead he went to General Motors and got the 4.0-liter, double-over-head-cam V8 that would normally be found under the hood of an Oldsmobile Aurora.
With Shelby's tweaking, this engine produced 320 hp and 290 lb-ft of torque. Shelby also offered supercharger options for this motor, and depending on the tune, delivered between 450 hp and 600 hp.
The Series 1 was a limited-edition car and all 249 examples were built and sold in 1999.
Despite his continued heart problems, and having gone through surgery many times in the last two decades, Shelby was not showing any signs of slowing down. In 2004, he again started work with Ford, and not only helped in developing the new Ford GT supercar, but also began work on faster versions of the new-generation Mustang, which bowed in 2005.
He also lent his name to the stunning Shelby GR-1 concept car, while working on the next Mustang Shelby GT500, which came out as a 2007 model.
Over the years, the GT500 keeps getting better and more powerful. The 2013 Shelby GT500, which is the last car Shelby oversaw himself, develops an astonishing 662 hp. For those who think that is not enough, Shelby American will sell you a Super Snake version, capable of producing 1000 horses.
Apart from cars, Shelby was also devoted to his charity work. The Carroll Shelby Foundation for sick children was formed in 1992, and has raised millions of dollars over the years by hosting chili cook-offs.
Shelby is survived by his wife Cleo, three children, six grand children and six great grand children.
The family has asked that in his memory, to please make donations to the Carroll Shelby Foundation by visiting www.cscf.org.
Shelby was 89.
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| Carroll Shelby (1923-2012) (Photo: ShelbyAutos.com) |
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