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From the Shelby Cobras manufactured by Shelby American in the 1960s to the popular Shelby Mustang GT350 designed for Ford in 1965 to the trio of Shelby Ford GT40s that almost simultaneously crossed the finish line at Le Mans in 1966—Shelby Fords...
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From the Shelby Cobras manufactured by Shelby American in the 1960s to the popular Shelby Mustang GT350 designed for Ford in 1965 to the trio of Shelby Ford GT40s that almost simultaneously crossed the finish line at Le Mans in 1966—Shelby Fords would win the famous endurance race again in 1967 and 1968—the name Carroll Shelby is hallowed in the automotive world. A former race-car driver himself, with a win at Le Mans in 1959 to his name, vintage Shelby sport cars and even more recent Shelby-branded vehicles are widely sought by vintage-car collectors. Though never a maker in the automobile-manufacturer sense of the word, Carroll Shelby did build cars, albeit out of parts supplied by others. That first Shelby Cobra, for example, featured basically the same Ford 260 V-8 engine found in Ford Fairlanes of the time. Naturally, the 100 or so 260 engines that eventually found their way into the bodies of a two-seat English sports car called the AC Ace were higher-performing versions of the original. The 260 engines were soon replaced by 289s, then 427s and 428s, all Ford V-8s. In all, between 1961 and 1968, the year Ford took over Cobra production, just under 1,000 Cobras were assembled by Shelby American, making them one of the most collected vintage American sports cars in the world. Concurrently with the Cobra, Shelby oversaw the design and development of the Shelby Mustang GT350, which was manufactured from 1965 to 1969, although those made in the last year were not shipped until 1970. As you might expect, Shelby's input on the Shelby Mustangs, as they were known for a time, decreased over the years as Ford pushed the cars less in the direction of performance and more toward comfort. During these years, Ford also manufactured a Shelby GT500, which was powered by a Ford 428 engine. In the 1980s, Shelby lent his name to Chrysler, most notably for the Dodge Shelby Charger of 1983. Though associated with muscle cars, Shelby also tricked out a Dodge Omni GLH,...
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