To our friends across the Pond – the home of Ford – there was no one who defined the world of fast Fords more than Carroll Shelby, who died last week.
Shelby was integral to all things performance Ford in the US for almost 60 years, producing stunning performance vehicles from concepts to production models.
The designer, racing driver and entrepreneur was most well known for making the AC Motors-based Shelby Cobra and the Ford Mustang-based performance cars also known as Cobras. The AC Shelby Cobra made its first ever appearance 50 years ago this year.
Shelby most recently worked with Ford on the 2013 Shelby GT500 Mustang, and while working with SVT engineers at Sebring and the Arizona Proving Grounds, at times he drove for more than eight hours – at the ripe old age of 88. He was having so much fun, he didn’t want to stop.
He once said his energy and passion for performance products were always strongest when he was working with Ford.
Carroll Shelby’s last collaboration, the 2013 Ford Shelby GT500, produces 662bhp and 631lb/ft of torque, making it the most powerful production V8 engine in the world – a fitting tribute to a man who, just like us, didn’t think production Fords were fast enough!
Key moments in the history of Carroll Shelby and Ford Motor Company
Posted on Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 at 8:57 pm under News. You can subscribe to comments. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.
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Check out the action from Santa Pod when we invited 38 of the best Fords in the country to battle it out on strip and circuit – it’s the Fast Ford Fight Club!
