As most of you will have probably heard or read by now, we lost an American automotive legend last week – Carroll Shelby passed away resulting in complications from pneumonia… He was 89.
Carroll in the original AC Cobra – the 1962 CSX2000
Responsible for developing the mighty AC Cobra (great feature in last month’s Octane magazine), the Shelby line of high performance Mustangs and lest we forget his heavy involvement with bringing the Ford GT40 to fruition where it swept the limelight away from Ferrari in ’66 by winning Le Mans 1, 2, 3… It subsequently won Le Mans every year to ’69.
The GT40 that crossed the line in 1st place at the legendary 1966 Le Mans
The video below comes courtesy of a ‘Behind The Headlights’ feature/documentary that originally aired on the Speed Channel. At just over 43 minutes in length (edited w/out those annoying US commercials) it comes as an intriguing testament to the die-hard mentality and perseverence of Carroll and all the talented ‘blue collar’ engineers that developed and assisted with the birth of the Cobra from its original, humble British roots to the flame-spitting, Le Mans-entered Daytona Cobra Coupe…
Enjoy… 😉
Rest in peace Carroll…
Also, for those wishing to own a Carroll Shelby-approved ‘continuation’ of the original Cobra Coupe (amongst other ’60s Ford/Chevy Motorsport icons), you simply can’t go wrong in checking yourself into one of the incredibly beautiful (and detail-ridden) examples built by South African-based Superformance. Some tasty examples of their stunning recreations below…
When Ford unveiled their modern-day re-interpretation of the 1960’s Le Mans-dominating/Ferrari-slaying GT40 back in 2004 (reborn as the ‘GT’), it bowled over the crowds with its beautifully similar lines and near-identical dimensions to that of the iconic original. It was little bit wider, a little bit taller (by 3 in.) and a little less lairy than that of the be-scooped, original raucous racer, but there was no doubt that Ford had nailed a winner with its supercharged 550 bhp V8 leviathan (650 bhp with some tasty Ford-sanctioned upgrades).
Accolades and group-test awards came pouring in. It even managed to bag Evo Magazine’s coveted Car of the Year acolade back in 2005, beating out the likes of a certain Ferrari F430 for the crown. Seeing as how production of Ford’s GT ended just over 5 years ago with 4,038 being made, your chance to bag one now with relatively low miles on the clock will be a relative dawdle… though, if I’m to be honest, I’d be sorely tempted to track down one of the rarer light-blue and orange GTs painted in those race-bred Gulf colours…
For those that hanker after an exquisitely-built near-identical replica of the 60’s original GT40, there’s always the South African-based Superformance who will build you one to your own personal spec and desires. I’ve always enjoyed this Fifth Gear vid of Tiff Needell blasting around South Africa in the Superformance GT40…
Posted by AutoInjected.com 
AutoInjected.com 