The legacy of Shelby American remains forever intertwined with Carroll Shelby, the man, and the legend behind not just the Shelby Mustang, but also the Shelby Cobra, Shelby Daytona Coupe, and the unforgettable Ford GT40.
The slick salesmanship of Shelby, himself a racer who had to retire from the thrill of the tracks because of a heart condition, resulted in a long-lasting partnership between Carroll Shelby and Ford and the legacy of it remains in the Shelby Mustangs of today as well as the cars that Shelby American makes.
Of course, the world today has changed, and Shelby himself bowed out of the actual process of car tuning once technology changed but what he did with Shelby American in the '60s and the '70s carries enough weight for the company to thrive even in his absence.
Carroll Shelby & Shelby American
Shelby American was founded in 1962, at the time when Carroll Shelby was known as a chicken farmer who failed in his venture and as a car racer, who won the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a co-driver.
But Shelby never really wanted to be a car racer, he wanted to be a car maker. Suffice to say, when his heart condition forced him to retire, Shelby decided to go chase his dream. With his saccharine-sweet talk, Shelby went on to get AC Ace chassis and Ford 221-cubic-inch and 260-cubic-inch V8 engines with transmissions, both on credit. AC was going out of business and only too happy to give the remaining shells to Shelby, whilst even for Ford, the engines were a surplus order. Shelby got the two, only to splice them together to make the car that kickstarted it all: the AC/Shelby/Ford Cobra.
But this was a car for the ordinary folk and Shelby wanted something extraordinary. To further his racing ambitions, Shelby made another car, the Shelby Daytona Coupe, that took three GT championships in the 1964 World Sportscar Championship GT circuit, under the Shelby American racing banner.
Shelby American Racing
The success of the Shelby Daytona Coupe and Carroll Shelby’s smooth salesman skills gave rise to Henry Ford II’s interest in Shelby American, because it was Ford’s dream to give Ferrari, or rather Enzo Ferrari a solid whooping on the race track. Something no mass production car had done before.
Shelby American was brought in by Ford to turn the GT40 prototype into a winner. The team of Shelby American, led by Carroll Shelby with stalwarts like Ken Miles and Roy Lunn, together turned the GT40 on its head. The transmissions were tinkered with for reliability and the ultra-small car had to fit in the 7.0-liter Ford engine. Even if it meant the driver was wedged in like a sardine in a tin can.
The results were astounding, especially with that 1-2-3 win the GT40 enjoyed simultaneously at Le Mans, Sebring, and Daytona in 1966. While Shelby American and Ford never reached this height again, they had a successful racing run till 1969 post which Shelby American Racing quit the field forever.
The car that beat Ferrari and Porsches to the pulp may have been a Ford GT40, but it was Carroll Shelby and Shelby American behind all the wins.
Enter, the Shelby Mustangs
With Ford reaching an all-time high, it was but natural for the head honchos to try and convert race track success in dealership success. Shelby American was roped in, once again, to start economizing on Ford GT40 win by making the Ford Shelby Mustangs in all their various forms. The Shelby Mustang GT350 came in 1965 and by 1967, the Shelby Mustang GT500 also delighted the public.
After a while, Shelby bowed out of the technical aspects of the car making, but Ford still uses the ‘Shelby’ name as a license, on every Shelby Mustang that sells out there, thus making Shelby American a pretty penny till date.
Shelby American, Today
Carroll Shelby passed away in 2012, aged 89, leaving his heirs the ownership of his various businesses and assets, including his chili kits called Carroll Shelby's Chili. His dream car company, Shelby American, is still very much alive under the aegis of Joe E Conway, hand-selected by Shelby in 2009.
Shelby American still makes authentic Cobras and Daytona Coupe component vehicles, plus offers Super Snake packages for the Ford Mustang. Other than that, there is the Shelby Raptor, the F-150 Super Snake, and the Shelby F-150 customization packages as well.
The legacy is strong and etched in grease, gas, and blood. It will carry the company along till the world remembers who Shelby was and what he did. But without a Carroll Shelby, we doubt Shelby American can delight the world the way it did in the ‘60s.
Sources: AutomobileMag, Road&Track, AutoBlog, ABCNews, MotorAuthority, Shelby