Carroll Shelby

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Carroll Shelby
Nationality Flag of United States American
World Championship Career
Active years 1958 - 1959
Team(s) Aston Martin, non-works Maserati
Races 8
Championships 0
Wins 0
Podium finishes    0
Pole positions 0
Fastest laps 0
First race 1958 French Grand Prix
Last race 1959 Italian Grand Prix

Carroll Hall Shelby, (born January 11, 1923 in Leesburg, Texas) is an American racing and automotive designer and former racing driver.

Contents

[edit] Life before racing

After graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, Texas, Shelby enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, serving in World War II as a flight instructor and test pilot. He then became a chicken farmer until his chickens died, and his friend invited him to become an amateur racer. His victories led him to become a professional racer.

[edit] Driving career

Carroll Shelby has had an impressive impact on automotive racing and design over the last 50 years. Starting out amateur, he soon became a driver for Cad-Allard, Aston Martin, Maserati teams during the 1950s. Driving for Donald Healey, in a streamlined and supercharged, specially-modified, Austin-Healey 100S, he set 16 US and international speed records. Teamed with Roy Salvadori, and driving for Aston Martin, he won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans.

He competed in Formula One from 1958 to 1959, participating in a total of 8 World Championship races and several non-Championship races.

[edit] Complete World Championship Formula One results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 WDC Points
1958 Scuderia Centro Sud Maserati 250F Maserati ARG
 MON
 NED
 500
 BEL
 FRA
Ret		 GBR
9		 GER
 POR
9		 ITA
4*		 MOR
 - 0
1959 David Brown Corporation Aston Martin DBR4/250 Aston Martin MON
 500
 NED
Ret		 FRA
 GBR
Ret		 GER
 POR
8		 ITA
10		 USA
 - 0

* No points awarded for shared drive with Masten Gregory.

[edit] Shelby the constructor

For construction production details, see Shelby American vehicles

After retiring from driving in October 1959 for health reasons [1], he opened a high performance driving school and the Shelby-American company. In the shop he designed and built the famed "Cobra" cars, which were derived from an AC chassis and used Ford engines. Shelby went on to help design some of the most successful and beautiful cars of the era: the GT40, the Mustang-based Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT500, and of course the 427 Shelby Cobra. Parting with Ford, Shelby moved on to help develop performance cars with divisions of the two other Big 3 American companies, Dodge, and Oldsmobile. The most memorable of these cars was the Dodge Viper.

He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992.

In the intervening years Shelby had an interesting series of ventures start and stop (and be stopped) relating to production of 'continuation' Cobras. Cobras which were allegedly built using 'left over' parts and frames.

In 2003, Ford Motor Co. and Carroll Shelby mended ties again. Carroll Shelby became technical advisor to the Ford GT project. In that same year, he formed Carroll Shelby International Inc. based in Nevada.

[edit] Sources For Shelby's Cobra and Ford GT Racing -- 1962-1967

"Ford Cobra Guide" by Carroll, published in 1964, is an inside look at early Cobra racing 1962 through 1963. "The Cobra Story" by Shelby himself, first published in 1965, is Shelby's story of his life and racing (including Cobra racing) through 1964. "The Cobra-Ferrari Wars 1963-1965" by Shoen, published in 1990, covers Cobra (and Ford GT) racing through 1965. "Ford: The Dust and the Glory" by Levine, published in 1968, covers all of Shelby's Ford racing programs through 1967 and places them in the context of Ford's overall racing program. Ford provided financial support for Shelby's Cobras from 1962 through 1965 and provided financial support for the Ford GTs first with John Wyer's Ford Advanced Vehicles in 1963 and then with Shelby American from 1964 through 1967.

[edit] Shelby Dodges and Dodge Shelbys

Shelby began working with Dodge at the request of Chrysler Corporation chairman, Lee Iacocca, who had previously been responsible for bringing Shelby to the Ford Mustang. After almost a decade of tuning work, Shelby was part of the team responsible for the Dodge Viper.

The following cars were modified by Shelby, and bore his name, but still sold under the Dodge marque:

The following cars used Shelby-modified parts, but were not overseen by Carroll Shelby:

The following cars were modified and sold as Shelbys:

External link: The Shelby Dodge Pages

[edit] Series 1

Shelby's Series 1 roadster used Oldsmobile's 4.0 L L47 Aurora V8, but was poorly supported by the ailing GM division.

[edit] Ford-Shelby Projects

The new contract between Ford Motor Company and Carroll Shelby signaled hope for Shelby products built under Ford. In 2004, a new Ford Shelby Cobra Concept was shown off in at US car shows. Built with a retro body mimicking the 1960s Cobras mixed with modern touches, it was based on the Ford GT chassis (reworked for front engine/rear wheel drive) powered with a 6.4 L V10 engine that produced 605 hp (451 kW). It received overwhelmingly positive press reviews and has won the "Best In Show" award at Detroit International Auto Show.

A coupe version of the Shelby Cobra roadster was then introduced the following year. The Ford Shelby GR-1 concept car of 2005. While sporting a completely modern design, it showed a nod to the 1960s Shelby Daytona. The GR-1, like the Cobra, is based on the GT's chassis and was also powered with the same 6.4 L V10 engine, although production versions, if given the green light, could see a 7.0 L V8. Press reviews for the GR-1 have been very positive; it gained cover spots in magazines such as the U.S.' Motor Trend and the UK's Car Magazine. The Ford Shelby GR-1 could possibly be built, taking over the Ford GT's production line after its production comes to an end.

In 2005, the Shelby GT500 was revealed at the New York International Auto Show, and became available in the summer of 2006 as part of the model year 2007 lineup. It is powered by a 5.4 Liter Modular V8, with 4V per cylinder heads borrowed from the $150K Ford GT supercar, an eaton M122 roots supercharger and is rated by Ford at 500hp and 480 ft. lbs of torque. It boasts a Tremec T-6060 manual transmission, reworked suspension geometry, 18-inch wheels, functional aerodynamic body kit, and still retains the solid rear axle. The GT500 starts at an MSRP of $40,930 for the coupe, and $45,755 for the convertible version. Although Carroll Shelby had no hands on involvment in the design of the car, he did provide ford and SVT (special vehicle team) input on what would make the car better. Most notible he got ford to enlist wider rear tires (from 255mm wide to 285mm wide). This car is the aftermarket's dream...with less than $1000 in simple modifications (smaller pulley on the supercharger, cold air intake, and custom remapping of the ecu) the cars horsepower can jump to over 650 and torque over 600.

Shelby, in cooperation with the Hertz Corporation, produced a limited-edition Shelby GT-H in 2006. The GT-H is a special-edition Ford Mustang GT, available only for rental from Hertz. A Ford Racing Performance Group FR1 Power Pack boosts the GT's 4.6-liter, V-8 engine to 325HP. The car has a custom Shelby hood and black and gold body styling, incorporating a gold-plated "Hertz" nameplate on both sides of the car. The GT-H is limited to a run of 500 vehicles and is available for rental at major cities and airports across the United States. A consumer version of the Shelby GT-H will become available from Ford, the car will be called the Shelby GT.

[edit] Non-Ford Projects

Shelby seemed to become even more of a cantankerous, litiguous man in his later years, suing company after company for reproducing the original Cobra body for use in kit cars. This despite his use of AC Ace bodies for his original Cobras. Despite years of lawsuits, the Cobra kit car industry thrives today with most examples being obviously superior in quality to the originals, available in fiberglass and aluminum, some with stainless steel frames.

One of the companies sued was called Superformance. After Superformance had developed and begun production on the Superformance Brock Coupe (designed by Peter Brock, who also designed the original Shelby Daytona Coupes), Shelby American sued Superformance. Eventually, the litigation was settled, though the terms of the settlement (if any) have never been released to the public. As a result of the agreement between the two companies, the product is now known as the Shelby Daytona Coupe, though Carroll Shelby himself contributed essentially nothing other than his name to the project, as the cars were already designed and in the process of being manufactured at the time Shelby American became involved. Roush, rather than Ford, provides the engines for the substantial majority of these cars. Nearly 150 of these new Shelby Daytona Coupes have been built as of February, 2007.

[edit] Other Projects

Caroll Shelby's name is associated with a popular Chili fixings kit. The kit is mostly spices in several packets, all contained in a minature brown paper bag. On the side of the bag is a story related by Shelby about his cooking chili during his racing days. On the front of the bag is a depiction of a big western black hat, a trademark piece of clothing for Shelby.

Donzi Marine, of Sarasota FL, created a special limited-edition 22-foot speedboat, based on their Classic line of boats in collaboration with Caroll Shelby. The boat is known as the Donzi Shelby 22 GT. This project has been in place since the 2006 model year and is currently the only boat ever to wear the Shelby name.

Carroll Shelby produced a line of 8-spoke alloy wheels for Saab automobiles in the early to mid 1980s. They were available in both gold (Goldvane) and hammered silver (Silverane) finish. These wheels were available through Saab dealers and could be fitted to Saab 99 and Saab 900 models manufactured through 1987. They are a sought after accessory for Saab enthusiasts today.

[edit] References

  • Paul Dean (1993). Questions have been raised over Carroll Shelby's claim he's building 43 of his classic Cobras using original chassis. Shelby says he's the victim of a business feud.. The Los Angeles Times. April 15, 1993. 

[edit] External Links

The Cobra Ferrari Wars, Shelby's war vs. Enzo Ferrari Many rare, original photos along with a vast amount of information.


Preceded by
Olivier Gendebien
Phil Hill		 Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1959
Carroll Shelby
Roy Salvadori		 Succeeded by
Olivier Gendebien
Paul Frère
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