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Who Is  Carroll Shelby?

Carroll Shelby was a successful race car driver, high-performance car designer, and entrepreneur.

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Shelby’s Early Years

A native of Leesburg, Texas, Shelby was born on January 11, 1923. Despite suffering from heart issues that haunted him all his life, he always felt a need for speed.

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Racing Champion

Shelby started driving sports race cars in 1952. He won many races, including the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959, before retiring in 1960 because of health issues.

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How did Shelby start in the automotive industry?

His racing experience inspired Shelby. He wanted to fuse the balance and handling of European cars with the reliability of American V8 engines.

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The Shelby Cobra

In the 1960s, Shelby teamed up with AC Cars and Ford to make the Shelby Cobra. The Cobra beat Ferrari’s best in the 1965 World Manufacturers' GT Championship.

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In 1964, Shelby was contacted by Lee Iacocca. Ford wanted the ex-race car driver to give its new Mustang the image of a performance car.

Shelby works for Ford

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Milestones at Ford

1965: Developed the Shelby Mustang GT350

1970: Retired from Ford

1968: Ford took over production of Shelby cars

1967: Developed the Shelby Mustang GT500

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Retirement

After leaving Ford, he founded the Shelby Wheel Company. It provides premium wheels for Ford vehicles to this day.

Image credit: Carroll Shelby Wheels | Instagram

Milestones at Chrysler

1982: Recruited by Lee Iaccocca at Chrysler

1983: Dodge Shelby Charger

1984: Developed GLH (Goes Like Hell) series

1986: Introduced limited production models made in-house at Shelby Automobiles

1991: Shelby Can-Am

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Shelby and Ford Reunion

2005 saw Shelby and Ford patch up their differences to create a retro Mustang that met Shelby's strict performance specifications. The two continued their collaboration.

Image credit: Shelby American, Inc.

Carroll Shelby passed away in 2012. However, he made his mark on American sports cars and performance vehicles like the Cobra and Mustang.

Carroll Shelby’s Legacy

Carroll Shelby’s Legacy

There’s even a movie called Ford v Ferrari that dramatizes the experiences of Shelby’s team at the 1966 Le Mans race.

Image credit: Ford v Ferrari

Driving race cars was an avenue for me to learn how to build my own car, and that was my ambition all along. 

- Carroll Shelby

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