Carroll Hall Shelby: A Pictorial Odyssey

Carroll Hall Shelby was a racecar driving champion, culminating in 1959 when he and his co-driver, Roy Salvadori, won the 24-Hours of Le Mans. Forced to retire from racing due to ill health, he got the idea of installing small-block American V-8 engines in light-weight sports cars. The English AC had a beautiful body and good-handling characteristics, but a somewhat anemic power plant. Shelby discussed his idea with Charles Hurlock of AC and the first "Cobra" was finished in 1962. Carroll's company, Shelby American, built a sufficient number of Cobras for the FIA to recognize them as production cars in the GT Class. Cobras dominated the class for much of the decade, winning Le Mans and Sebring in 1964. Cobra Daytona Coupes won the World Manufacturer's Championship in 1965. Shelby had some success by installing Ford V-8s in Cooper Monaco chassis, creating a car he called the King Cobra. When Ford turned part of its racing program over to Shelby, Ford GT-40s won the triple crown of racing: Le Mans, Sebring and Daytona. Carroll Shelby died on May 10, 2012. His legacy, however, lives on.