Few people have influenced the need for (American) speed quite like Carroll Shelby; just ask Oscar winner, Matt Damon, who played him in the critically acclaimed 2019 movie, Ford
v Ferrari. Shelby’s story is one of true, ever-evolving American innovation. A major disruptor in the realm of European race car driving
, Shelby’s mark on the sport is still felt 65 years after the creation of the first Shelby Cobra. Carroll Shelby’s humble origins
According to Shelby.com
, Carroll Shelby was born in the tiny East Texas town of Leesburg in 1923. Shelby would often accompany his dad, a US postal worker, on his mail route as a kid. His love of cars started young and by age 15 he was driving and caring for his dad’s two-door Ford sedan.
Upon graduating high school, Shelby enlisted in the Army Air Corps where he quickly earned his wings and made it as high as second Lieutenant. Despite requesting to go fight, he was never actually sent into combat.
Caroll Shelby’s racing years
After the war ended, Shelby bounced around a few different jobs but always racing in his spare time, eventually winning his first race in 1952.
Between 1952-1954 Shelby won 12 races behind the wheels of Ferraris and Maseratis before attracting the attention of the Aston Martin racing team in 1954.
While driving for Aston Martin, Shelby won the highly coveted, Le Mans, in 1959. Unfortunately, a heart condition caused him to retire in 1960.
The creation of the Cobra
Upon retiring from professional driving, Shelby turned his attention to what he thought was a huge missed opportunity in America; a US-made racing car. The European cars that brought him victories were undoubtedly fast, but they were expensive and unreliable.
His goal was to build a car that was comparable to the handling and power of the Euro sports cars, but that could be serviced more easily and sold for a fraction of the price.
Carrol jumped at the opportunity to work with AC Cars in Great Britain which had recently just lost their engine supplier.
He pitched Ford motors on making a racing V-8 to put in the AC body, thus the Shelby Cobra was born. Equipped with a Ford 260, the Cobra began to dominate the Corvette on the American circuit and even hold its own in Europe.
In July of 1965, Carroll Shelby achieved his dream of winning the World Manufacturers GT Championship, usurping the throne from Ferrari.
The Ford Shelby GT
Eventually, Ford motors wanted the whole piece of Shelby cake and convinced Carroll to let them use the engine he helped develop to beef up their new Ford Mustang
. Up to that point, the Mustang was selling well but it lacked the bite that Ford was looking for in an American muscle car. Shelby and Ford went on to develop the GT 350 and GT500
from 1965-1970. These were instant American classics winning the B Production National Championship in 1965 against a stacked class of Corvette Stingrays, Ferraris, and Jaguars. Insurance for all
While you likely aren’t lucky enough to have your hands on an early model Ford Shelby GT, that doesn’t mean you should settle for below-average insurance for your car. Super app, Jerry
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