Carroll Shelby, the charismatic Texan who parlayed a short-lived racing career into a specialized business building high-performance, street-legal cars, died Thursday. He was 89.
Shelby died at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, according to an announcement by his company, Carroll Shelby Licensing. A cause was not disclosed.
Carroll Shelby designed muscle cars using Ford Mustangs, turbocharged Mopar offerings in the restriction-heavy '80s, and turned GM sports cars into world-class supercars. All three major US car manufacturers were improved with their affiliation with Carroll Shelby (I don't think even the master himself could have helped AMC...), with cars like the Shelby 500, the Omni GLHS, and the Series 1 spanning the Big Three.
And of course, the AC Cobra:
Requiescat in pace, Mr. Shelby.
That is all.
7 comments:
Not sure if Mr. Shelby did anything for GM, except to goad them into competition.
RIP.
Dont forget he was also largely responsible for creating the whole muscle truck thing with the creation of the 1989 Shelby Dakota (An old friend of mine still owns one of the 1500 ever made) which has ultimately lead to factory offerings like our hemi powered Dodge Earthf**kers
The Shelby Series 1 was based off the Olds Aurora. :)
Actually, they did THIS before the Cobra...
http://www.michaelmccafferty.com/mmmvette.htm
I sold cars n' trucks, between the years of '99 and '09. The last dealer I worked for was Hamon Ford in Texas City, TX. The owner, Tommy Hamon has retired and the place is now Cook Ford, but there was always something cool about working at Hamon.
You see, he and Carrol Shelby were close, dear, longtime friends. They used to race together back in the early '60s, and Tommy had all the photos to prove it.
More proof, you ask? How 'bout when Carrol Shelby visited the dealership, while dragging along another old friend of his?
Which is how I got to meet Mr. Sterling Moss, when both he and Mr. Shelby were noted guests at the Keels & Wheels Concours at Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, TX.
Tommy Hamon's '05 Ford GT is only one of two in the world to which Carrol Shelby wrote his signature on the passenger side dashboard. Tommy's AC Cobra 289 also bears that inscription, but those are much more common.
I hope one day Tommy publishes what's in his photo albums. Epic, in this case is an understatement.
Jim
Sunk New Dawn
Galveston, TX
Loved his cars. I still use his Chili Mix. It is easy and potent.
When I heard that he had died, my first thought was "Racing accident?"
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