We love Carroll Shelby and all his cars, starting with the most surprising winner of all, the Ford GT40, and moving on the Shelby Cobras of the time. Of course, what the world may not have known about Shelby was dramatized and immortalized by the very able Matt Damon, who manages to capture Shelby’s frustration with his heart condition quite well, as well as his deep friendship with Ken Miles, played even more ably by Christian Bale.
But there have been other race car drivers like Carroll Shelby who have built and raced their own cars, with a fair amount of wins. The only difference between them and Shelby is that Shelby was also a consummate salesman, and was able to sell his cars to the general public, with a fair amount of success in monetary value. Here are our picks of 15 pretty sick cars made by race car drivers, that may not be a Shelby, but still rocked the race tracks.
15 McLaren M6A By Bruce McLaren
This was not the first car designed by Bruce McLaren along with engineer and designer Robin Herd and others, but it was the 1967 entry that won them their first titles as a racing team in Can-Am. And it was Bruce MacLaren, along with Chris Amon, who won that contentious Le Mans title of 1966 in a Ford GT40, over a technical detail that would have otherwise let Ken Miles and Danny Hulme win.
14 The Pooper By Ken Miles
It was Ken Miles who, along with Shelby, helped refine the now-legendary Ford GT40. Not only was Ken Miles an accomplished racer but he was first and foremost a mechanic, or rather, a tinkerer. This is why The Pooper, which was the putting in of a Porsche 550S engine and transmission into a 1965 Cooper chassis and body, has to be on our list.
13 Chaparral 2E By Hap Sharp, Jim Hall
The original Chaparral car was built by Dick Troutman and Tom Barnes. But when racer Jim Hall decided to make his race cars, along with Hap Sharp, he asked for permission to use the name, and the Chaparral 2 shocked the world by winning the 1965 12 Hours of Sebring, in the pouring rain. The Chaparral 2E later set the precedent for all future racing cars with its giant rear wing.
12 Cunningham C4-R By Briggs Swift Cunningham II
Introduced to the exciting world of motorsports by his uncles, Briggs Cunningham was both an avid car and sailboat racer. He is the guy behind the Cunningham Downhaul, an instrument used to make sailboats faster. The C4-R made by him finished fourth in the 1952 Le Mans and won the 1953 12 Hours of Sebring.
11 Alpine A110 Berlinette By Jean Rédélé
When racer and pilot Jean Rédélé won his first rally in The Alps and decided to make his cars, Alpine was the name that came to his mind and so the brand was born, with a Renault partnership for engines in place. The Alpine A110 Berlinette (which was a coupe) did pretty well for its time, even though it faced naming issues with the Sunbeam Alpine all its life.
10 Ascari A410 By Klaas Zwart
A driver for the British Ferrari Challenge series, Klaas Zwart went on to form Ascari Cars Ltd, as a mark of respect to racer Alberto Ascari, the first double winner of the World Championship of Drivers. The Ascari A410 was a Le Mans Prototype that looked stunning, even if it never won a title, per se.
9 Gillet Vertigo By Tony Gillet
Tony Gillet was a successful race car driver who won the Belgian Hill-Championship in 1979 and 1980 and also took part in Dakar Rallies. In 1992, he formed the car manufacturer Gillet that makes handmade sports cars such as the Vertigo that used Ford Cosworth, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Maserati engines for power. The racing version is the Gillet Vertigo Streiff.
8 Lotec Sirius By Kurt Lotterschmid
A German car racer and entrepreneur, Kurt Lottershmid founded Lotec in 1962 and began making racecars to order by 1969, as well as modifying Porsches for rich clients. They have been making the Lotec Sirius supercar since 2004, though it's still an extremely rare model with unknown production figures. What is known, however, is that the car is capable of a ridiculous 249-mph top speed.
7 Marcos Mantis By Jem Marsh, Frank Costin
Marcos Engineering finally ceased making cars in 2008, after the company had changed hands to a Canadian owner. The original company was formed by racer Jeremy "Jem" Marsh and engineer Frank Costin and has been home to the successful Mini Marcos racing series as well as the Le Mans Prototype, the Marcos Mantis.
6 Marussia B1 by Nikolai Fomenko
Nikolai Fomenko was an accomplished racer by the time he founded the Russian sports car maker, Marussia Motors, which is now defunct. For a time, though, the Marussia B1 looked like a promising car, and was Russia’s only supercar on offer, using Cosworth V6 engines. The company was founded in 2010, but by 2014, it had all wrapped up.
5 Radical RXC Turbo 600R By Mick Hyde, Phil Abbott
Mick Hyde and Phil Abbott were amateur drivers and engineers when they founded Radical Sportscars, with Abbott having just announced a new company called Revolution Race Cars that will now aim to make cars for racers, by racers. One notable car in their lineup has been the Radical RXC Turbo 600R, a track-only vehicle that makes 650 horses.
4 Tushek TS900 By Aljoša Tushek
Slovenian race car driver Aljoša Tushek first launched the Renovatio T500, a 450-horsepower car that came from nowhere and took the world by surprise. Now rebranded as Tushek & Spigel, with Jacob Carl Spigel as a partner, operations have moved to Austria, and the TS900 is out with an astounding 900 horses.
3 Elfin MS8 Streamliner By Garrie Cooper
Garrie Cooper was a racing driver of repute who designed and raced in his cars under the Elfin Sports Car Company. The Elfin Streamliner was one such car, now rebooted as the Elfin MS8 Streamliner, with Holden parts. Elfin Sports Cars Pty Ltd is now owned by British race car driver Tom Walkinshaw’s estate.
2 SSZ Stradale Mark 2 By Tom Zatloukal
The SSZ Stradale was developed by Tom Zatloukal who was an Alfa Romeo racer and restorer and became popular enough to be known as the Zatmobile. Stradales have been successful racers in their heydays, from 1984 to 1999, with Mark 1 and 2 cars winning several SCCA club racing titles. If you want to see some of these cars, visit the Motorama Auto Museum, in Harrison, Wisconsin where Tom, and his wife Dale, may drop in for a chat.
1 Cisitalia 202 By Piero Dusio
Piero Dusio was not just a racer but also a soccer player and a businessman who founded Cisitalia, a name that was an amalgamation of Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia, founded in 1946. Not only was the Cisitalia 202 fast, but the famous Italian design house Pininfarina made it so beautiful it was often referred to as the "rolling sculpture," or as the Italians would say, Bellissima!