Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix Association | Spotlight

2011 SPOTLIGHT CAR SHOW

The Cars of Carroll Shelby

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Looking for an American success story? Look no further than Carroll Shelby.

{carrol shelby pvgp} He was--and is a hard worker, getting ahead by the sweat of his brow and raw, unadulterated fearlessness, the essence of a self-made man. Over the decades, Mr. Shelby worked at a host of jobs, including a Texas chicken farmer, World War II fighter pilot, and a Texas oil field worker. At one point, he even ran a dump truck business.

But above all else, Carroll Shelby has become an automotive icon, a giant in the racing and sports car worlds and the creator of some of the most coveted automobiles the world has ever seen.

It all began for Mr. Shelby in 1952, he decided to borrow a friend's MG TC. He headed to a race track, and that was it: He was a believer, and on the threshold of what would become a brilliant career in auto racing and producing sports cars for all those who loved driving.

The lure of a big American V-8 drew him to the Allard J2, which had a big Cadillac V-8 under the hood. That car that gave him a victory at a race in Caddo Mills, Texas. By 1954, he caught the eye of John Wyer from Aston Martin, who signed him on to the company's race team. He was driving for Aston Martin and teamed with Roy Salvadori when he won the legendary 24 hours of LeMans race in 1959. During his racing career, he won three national championships and was eventually named Sports Car Driver of the Year in 1956 and 1957 by Sports Illustrated.

But Aston Martin wasn't the only company to benefit from Mr. Shelby's racing moxie. He also raced for Maserati and for Donald Healey, for whom he piloted a streamlined and supercharged Austin-Healey 100S, setting 16 U.S. and international speed records.

{shelby} Other accomplishments during his racing career included driving in the Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race, in which he drove a specially prepared Ferrari roadster to a record run of 10:21.8 seconds, quick enough for a victory in that 1956 race. He also competed in Formula One races in 1958 and 1959, participating in a total of eight World Championship races and several non-championship races.

But bigger things awaited. And as often happens with truly successful, creative people, those bigger things started with misfortune, which offer the opportunity to show what "they're made of," so to speak.

In Mr. Shelby's case, it was a 1960 diagnosis of angina pectoris, a heart ailment. As a result, he had to give up his racing career--and a whole new chapter in his life began. Getting underway with that new chapter had its roadblocks here and there for Carroll Shelby.

According to both written accounts and stories that have been passed down by enthusiasts, Carroll at first really wanted a Chevy small block V8 to use for his new sports car, but that idea was quickly shut down by General Motors management for obvious reasons: Shelby's new sports car might end up competing with the Chevy Corvette.

{cobras} After securing the use of Ford's then new small V8s and tying up other important details, Mr. Shelby purchased a factory in Los Angeles owned by Woolworth department store heir Lance Reventlow when his Scarab sports car company shut down. Thus was born Mr. Shelby's first project, combining the British built two-seat AC Bristol with the small Ford V8 to create the Shelby Cobra - the first, but certainly not the last car to bear his name.

The Cobra was a two-seat English made AC Bristol that he imported to the States, outfitted with Ford’s 260 and 289 cubic inch V8s and successfully sold and raced as the AC Cobra. Carroll continued with larger-engined versions of the Cobra while also turning his attention to the Mustang. From 1965 to 1970, specially modified Mustangs bearing the names Shelby GT350 and GT500 were produced either in his shop or by Ford under licensed contract.

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During the mid 1960s Carroll Shelby was active in motorsports racing. His cars competed and scored major victories in venues as diverse as the Trans Am series and major drag racing series. He was also a part of Henry Ford II’s all out campaign to beat Ferrari and win the 24 Hours of LeMans, which culminated in the 1967 victory with the GT40/MKIV.

{daytonacoupe} Mr. Shelby continued on to be influential with Ford manufactured cars including the Daytona Coupe, GT40, the Mustang-based Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT500, and of course the 427 Shelby Cobra. Parting with Ford, Mr. Shelby moved on to help develop performance cars with divisions of the two other Big 3 American companies, Dodge, and Oldsmobile.

The most memorable of these cars was the Dodge Viper. In 2004, Mr. Shelby rejoined Ford for a new generation of GT500 cars based on the retro Mustang. This partnership is still active today.

He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1991, and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992.

In honor of this American motoring legend, the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix will offer a special display, "The Cars of Carroll Shelby" on the July 23/24 weekend at Schenley Park. Owners of Shelby-built vehicles, Shelby tribute cars or Shelby Mustangs are invited to participate in the event.

The participation fee is $50 per car with a $25 option to take a parade lap of the track in your Shelby during the opening ceremonies. We ask that owners not leave their cars on the golf course overnight

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