This year marks six decades since Carroll Shelby first opened the doors to his Venice, California, shop back in 1962. Celebrations throughout the calendar year befitting one of the most iconic figures in motorsport history include big news from the company he founded with a revived King of the Road Mustang on the way and a new Shelby Mach-E concept marking a first move towards the electric future.

Now 60 years later, the Shelby name continues to thrive, fostering an entire enthusiast community that only further expanded following 2019's release of the biopic Ford v Ferrari. Today, the Los Angeles automotive community's passion for all things Shelby emerged once more at the Petersen Automotive Museum's garage rooftop Breakfast Club Cruise-In

The Original Cobra On Display

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via Michael Van Runkle / HotCars

Taking pride of place on a ramp that leads into the Petersen proper, the first Shelby Cobra ever built bearing serial number CSX2001 stole the limelight as star of the show. The chassis served as something of a developmental step for forthcoming Cobra improvements, with a 289ci V8 installed at Ed Hugus' European Cars of Pittsburgh before the first owner sold the car to Lloyd Casner, owner of the Camoradi racing team that would then bolt on a hardtop and take it out for an inaugural attempt at Le Mans in 1964. But four Weber carburetors feeding that powerplant only resulted in 325 horsepower for the 2,100-pound Cobra, which despite the hardtop's efforts at improved aerodynamics, still struggled against more powerful, more efficient competitors.

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Modern Shelby Incarnations

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via Michael Van Runkle / HotCars

The evolution from the first Cobra to today's modern Shelby Mustangs comes across whenever a group of owners gathers together in honor of the "Chicken Farmer from Texas." And plenty of factory Mustangs from Ford, plus the more potent variants cranked out by Shelby American, turned up at the Petersen ranging from bone stock to heavily modified examples in a rainbow of aggressive paint schemes and those iconic racing stripes.

RELATED: A Look Back At 60 Years of Shelby

Cars Built For Drivers

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via Michael Van Runkle / HotCars

Most of the Shelbys arrived in sparkling, pristine condition, whether vintage models, replicas from so many companies over the years, or modern sports cars. But a few proud owners showed off their well-worn Cobras with torn seats, scuffed shift knobs, trim patina, and filthy wheels, demonstrating that no matter how collectible or valuable a Shelby might seem today, Carroll Shelby built cars intended to be driven hard and fast.

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Introducing Shelby To New Generations

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via Michael Van Runkle / HotCars

The Matt Damon and Christian Bale biopic Ford v Ferrari helped to introduce Shelby and his iconic cars to a new generation, which then turned to social media and discovered the passionate community that grew up idolizing the very characters of Shelby himself, Ken Miles, Phil Remington, and Bruce McLaren. The photo above shows one of the more entertaining moments I spotted on the roof of the Petersen's parking garage, as the owner of a classic Mustang explained to a few teenagers how carburetors mix air and fuel to feed the V8 under the hood.

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Cobras Old And New

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via Michael Van Runkle / HotCars

Even Cobra recreations from the likes of Superformance and Backdraft Racing can fetch a pretty penny in today's booming collector car market, especially because everyone who pinned posters on their bedroom walls with slab-side and flared Cobras now knows that modern reliability, improved suspension design, creature comforts, and absurd power can lurk beneath the iconic exteriors bound to attract attention everywhere they drive.

RELATED: This Is The Best Feature Of The 1965 Shelby Cobra​​​​​​​

Sparkling Engines And Signs

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via Michael Van Runkle / HotCars

Of course, today's car culture also includes exactly the kind of aftermarket modifications that Carroll Shelby helped pave the way for back in the 1960s and on. Plenty of cars arrived with bolt-on superchargers, big chrome wheels, and carbon-fiber bits that neither Ford nor Shelby might have ever installed new—but that kind of fun tinkering fits perfectly into the community of proud Shelby ownership, even if originality still commands a bit more respect (not to mention value).

RELATED: The True Legacy Of Shelby American​​​​​​​

The Famous Offset Pedals

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via Michael Van Runkle / HotCars

Original cars, though, occasionally feature just as much AC badging as Shelby, since the British firm built more than just the bodies for the AC Ace. In fact, for most of the rest of the world, the Cobra originally hit salesroom floors as an AC rather than a Shelby. But regardless, the stylistically simple bodies that Shelby asked AC to produce required certain sacrifices in the name of engineering, resulting in a famously offset pedal design that forces the driver to sit somewhat akimbo while driving any original Cobra.

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A Roomy Engine Bay

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via Michael Van Runkle / HotCars

The typical explanation for such offset pedals involves theories about cramming a big Ford V8 and a beefy transmission capable of handling serious power into a tiny British sports car. But in fact, the original engine bay provided plenty of space—just not in the right places. In the name of balance, Shelby mounted the Cobra's motor so far back in the chassis that gobs of unused room ahead of the V8 left the ground entirely visible from above. The resultant balance allowed for Cobras to compete at least somewhat with purpose-built Ferraris at Le Mans thanks to the borderline mid-engined weight distribution.

RELATED: Hellcat Vs Shelby: Watch The Two Modern Muscle Cars Drag Race​​​​​​​

The True Mid-Engined Shelby

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via Michael Van Runkle / HotCars

But even mounting the Cobra's engine so far back, the little roadster still struggled to attain high enough speeds on the famous Mulsanne Straight, so Shelby eventually transitioned to the Daytona Coupe design—of which only one showed up briefly at the Petersen—and then onto the truly mid-engined GT40.

Arguably the original American supercar, the GT40 would go on to take a 1-2-3 finish at Le Mans in 1966 and dominate the race for the next three years, cementing the legendary partnership between Ford and Shelby into the annals of automotive history. Today, any GT40 that shows up at a Shelby gathering will draw a crowd, especially with the rear clamshell tilted back to reveal velocity stacks, custom headers, and a Gurney Eagle valve cover like the car above.

Surprisingly, among all the Cobras, the Mustangs, the GT40s, and that lone Daytona Coupe, no Shelby pickup trucks showed up at the Petersen this weekend—despite trucks making up 80% of Shelby American sales today. Blame LA's bourgeois classic car culture for the noticeable oversight, if you must, but pickups trucks and forthcoming electric SUVs represent Shelby's continued commitment to satisfying market demand while staying at the vanguard of technology and performance—just like Shelby the racing driver, engineer, and all-around American icon did for his entire life behind the wheel.

Sources: petersen.org, motorsportmagazine.com, shelby.com, superformance.com, backdraftracing.com, and accars.eu.