Post by ferrari512s on May 27, 2014 22:58:33 GMT -5
Carroll Shelby is an irreplaceable part of automotive history and now he is gone. He reached the pinnacle of race car driving, race car constructing, team ownership and team management. And a few other things as well.
Carroll Shelby with a GT350 Mustang and a Cobra in 1966
He also created the most popular sports car in history, the Shelby Cobra. He is a hero to car enthusiasts around the world and especially to American car lovers.
He, along with driving partner Roy Salvadori, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans driving an Aston Martin in 1959.
Road racing is a very competitive sport and Carroll Shelby was a very competitive man. The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe won the 1965 FIA GT world championship, the only time this has been done by an American team, a monument to the skill, the determination and the competitive drive of Carroll Shelby.
In 1964 Ford asked Carroll Shelby to transform the Ford Mustang into a race car. He did that and in 1965 the Shelby GT350 Mustang won the SCCA B/Production Class championship.
He also was instrumental in Ford’s success at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 1960s with the Ford GT40.
Driving career
Shelby beside his 1957 Maserati 450S at Virginia International Raceway in 2007
Starting out as an amateur, he initially raced a friend's MG TC.[11] He soon became a driver for the Cad-Allard, Aston Martin and Maserati teams during the 1950s. Driving for Donald Healey, in a streamlined and supercharged, specially-modified, Austin-Healey 100S, he set 16 U.S. and international speed records. Teamed with Roy Salvadori, and driving for Aston Martin, he won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He drove in the Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race in a specially prepared Ferrari 375 GP roadster, to a record run of 10:21.8 seconds on his way to victory in 1956.[12]
He was Sports Illustrated's driver of the year in 1956 and 1957.[13]
He competed in Formula One from 1958 to 1959, participating in a total of eight World Championship races and several non-championship races.
The highlight of his race driving career came in 1959, when he co-drove an Aston-Martin DBR1 (with Englishman Roy Salvadori) to victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. During this race he noted the performance of an English GT car built by AC Cars, known as the Bristol. Three years later, the AC Bristol would become the basis for the AC Cobra.
Shelby beside his 1957 Maserati 450S at Virginia International Raceway in 2007
Starting out as an amateur, he initially raced a friend's MG TC.[11] He soon became a driver for the Cad-Allard, Aston Martin and Maserati teams during the 1950s. Driving for Donald Healey, in a streamlined and supercharged, specially-modified, Austin-Healey 100S, he set 16 U.S. and international speed records. Teamed with Roy Salvadori, and driving for Aston Martin, he won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans.
He drove in the Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race in a specially prepared Ferrari 375 GP roadster, to a record run of 10:21.8 seconds on his way to victory in 1956.[12]
He was Sports Illustrated's driver of the year in 1956 and 1957.[13]
He competed in Formula One from 1958 to 1959, participating in a total of eight World Championship races and several non-championship races.
The highlight of his race driving career came in 1959, when he co-drove an Aston-Martin DBR1 (with Englishman Roy Salvadori) to victory in the 24 Hours of Le Mans. During this race he noted the performance of an English GT car built by AC Cars, known as the Bristol. Three years later, the AC Bristol would become the basis for the AC Cobra.
Below is a Shelby factory postcard for the Cobra 427.
Shelby Cobra Factory Postcard
Below is the Shelby factory poster celebrating the 1965 FIA world championship. The poster is directly from the Shelby factory ...
Sources
mycarquest.com/2012/05/carroll-shelby-has-died.html
motorcardigest.com/death-of-a-super-car-legend-carroll-shelby-passes-at-89/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_Shelby