Unforgettable Car Geniuses - Carroll Shelby

After a racing career that peaked in 1959 with a victory for Aston Martin at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Carroll Shelby was forced to retire from racing due to heart problems. The American driver decided to stay in the sport as a constructor, founding Shelby-American in 1961, the beginning of the legend that would create the Cobra. His experience behind the wheel naturally led him to understand the path to take: he knew he couldn’t compete directly with the dominant constructors of the time but saw plenty of opportunities to innovate.

Carroll Shelby triumphs at Le Mans alongside Roy Salvadori driving the Aston Martin DBR1 in 1959. It’s the first and only overall win for the English manufacturer.

The starting point was provided by the Ace: an English roadster designed by John Tojeiro, produced by British manufacturer AC with a Bristol engine, which impressed at Le Mans by winning the 2.0-liter class. In need of a new engine, Shelby knew the AC’s tubular frame could be reinforced and stiffened for better performance and could host a more powerful engine. He proposed to Ford the idea of pairing the British tubular chassis with a robust American V8, creating an explosive mix of agility and power—a concept only a racing champion could envision. Shelby’s ambitions were confirmed by the chosen name: Cobra.

The first Shelby Cobra produced in 1962. In 2016, it sold at RM Sotheby’s auction in Pebble Beach for $13,750,000.

In 1962, the Cobra was ready, but it had to compete with the debuting Corvette Sting Ray. During qualifying, Shelby’s car, driven by Bill Krause, outpaced the nearest rival by four seconds, proving the project’s brilliance. In the race, a mechanical issue—a broken axle—arose. However, successes quickly followed: in 1963, the FIA World Sportscar Championship saw the first victory for the newborn Shelby American Team, marking an American driver’s triumph in an American car in an international competition. The Cobra even stood up to the legendary Ferrari.

The racing version of the Shelby Cobra immediately proved competitive, unfazed by more renowned rivals.

In 1964, the Cobra project underwent a major evolution. Carroll Shelby and Peter Brock, after their 1963 experience at Le Mans, designed a closed-body version to improve aerodynamics: the Cobra 289. This new car, the Shelby Cobra Coupé, later earned the name Daytona, the circuit where it debuted. At Le Mans in June, the new creation finished first in its class and eighth overall. The 1965 World Sportscar Championship cemented its legacy, with the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé defeating Ferrari to claim the GT class championship for cars over 2000cc.

The closed-body version of the Shelby Cobra, named Daytona Coupé, achieved great results, such as the GT class win at Le Mans in 1964.

Ford, impressed by Shelby’s results and still reeling from its failed attempt to buy Enzo Ferrari’s company, hired Shelby to develop a car that would revolutionize the 24 Hours of Le Mans: the GT40. The Ford vs. Ferrari rivalry had just begun, with Shelby playing a key role in its success. Among his notable creations were the Mustang Shelby and his collaboration with Dan Gurney on the American Eagle Formula 1 car.

Due to disagreements with Ford, Shelby began working with Dodge (Chrysler) in 1970, contributing to the creation of the Dodge Viper, a legendary car embodying the technical characteristics and performance Shelby admired most. In 2006, Ford re-engaged Shelby to lend his name to an extreme Mustang version, the Shelby Mustang. The Capricorn, born on January 11, 1923, achieved one final triumph, cementing his place in the pantheon of automotive legends.

The name Shelby is inseparably tied to Ford, starting with the development of the legendary GT40.