Carroll Shelby International was formed in 2003 from custom
performance vehicleA high-performance vehicle is a vehicle that has been designed with specific performance capabilities, above and beyond those of normal vehicles. Enhancements such as higher engine output , enhanced braking and suspension systems, are all hallmarks of high-performance vehicles...
manufacturer
Shelby American when, founder and owner,
Carroll ShelbyCarroll Hall Shelby is an American retired automotive designer and racing driver. He is most well known for making Mustangs for Ford Motor Company known as Mustang Cobras which he has done since 1965...
took the company public, and additionally forming
Shelby Automobiles as a subsidiary from which to continue manufacturing vehicles and parts. In 2009, "Shelby Automobiles" was officially renamed to "Shelby American", bringing back the original company name to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the
427 CobraThe AC Cobra, also known colloquially as the Shelby Cobra in North America, is an Anglo-American sports car that was produced during the 1960s.-History and development:...
and GT350.
Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc. is the second wholly owned subsidiary that forms Carroll Shelby International, which is based at the
Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayLas Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada near Las Vegas, is a complex of multiple tracks for automobile racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.-History:...
in
Clark County-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,375,765 people, 512,253 households, and 339,693 families residing within the MSA. The racial makeup of the MSA was 71.6% White , 9.1% Black, 5.7% Asian, 0.8% American Indian and 12.8% of other or mixed race. 22.0% were Hispanic of any race...
,
NevadaNevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
.
Shelby American currently manufacturers component automobiles, including the small block Cobra, the big block Cobra, the Shelby GT350 and the GT500 Super Snake. Since 2005, Shelby American has been releasing new models every year.
Carroll Shelby International was previously working with Texas-based Unique Performance to create new
MustangThe Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
-based Shelby cars such as the
GT350SRThe Shelby Mustang is a high performance variant of the Ford Mustang which was built by Shelby American from 1965 through 1970. Following the introduction of the fifth generation Ford Mustang, the Shelby nameplate was revived in 2007 for new high performance versions of the Mustang.- 1965–1966 :The...
and
GT500EThe Shelby Mustang is a high performance variant of the Ford Mustang which was built by Shelby American from 1965 through 1970. Following the introduction of the fifth generation Ford Mustang, the Shelby nameplate was revived in 2007 for new high performance versions of the Mustang.- 1965–1966 :The...
. On November 1, 2007, Unique Performance was raided by the
Farmers BranchFarmers Branch is a city in Dallas County, Texas, United States. It is both an inner-ring suburb of Dallas and is part of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex. The population was 27,508 at the 2000 census. A July 1, 2008 U.S...
Police Department due to
VINA Vehicle Identification Number, commonly abbreviated to VIN, is a unique serial number used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles. VINs were first used in 1954...
irregularities and subsequently declared
bankruptcyBankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, which effectively ended the Shelby continuation "Eleanor" production and the relationship.
History
Shelby American was founded by
Carroll ShelbyCarroll Hall Shelby is an American retired automotive designer and racing driver. He is most well known for making Mustangs for Ford Motor Company known as Mustang Cobras which he has done since 1965...
in 1962 to build and market high performance parts and modified cars for individuals. Some of the automobiles produced by Shelby American were the
Ford MustangThe Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
-based Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT500. Shelby American also created the legendary Shelby Cobra which was an
AC Ace-History:AC came back to the market after the Second World War with the staid Two-litre range of cars in 1947, but it was with the Ace sports car of 1953 that the company really made its reputation in the post war years...
with a Ford V8.
The company was also highly involved with racing, with Shelby cars winning many races at the
drag stripDrag strip may refer to:*Dragstrip, track used for drag racing*Drag Strip , Transformer character who is one of the Stunticons*Videocart-9: Drag Strip, drag racing videogame released in 1976-See also:*Dover Drag Strip...
, at the
24 Hours of Le MansThe 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...
and America's first win at the
World Manufacturers' ChampionshipThe 1966 World Sportscar Championship season was the 14th season of the FIA "World Sportscar Championship" motor racing. It featured the 1966 International Manufacturers' Championship and the 1966 International Sports Car Championship, which were contested between February 5, 1966 and September 11,...
. In 1966, the same year that Shelby American helped
Ford Motor CompanyFord Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
land America's the World Manufacturers' Championship, Shelby American also provided support to Ford for their successful campaign to win the
1966 24 Hours of Le MansThe 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 34th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on June 18 and 19 1966. It was also the seventh round of the World Sportscar Championship.-Pre-race:...
.
Shelby American moved in 1995 to Nevada becoming the first automobile manufacturer in Nevada and began production. The line included:
- 427 S/C Cobras
- CSX1000-series British Made Frames and Aluminum Bodies (of modern production)
- CSX4000-series Various Manufacturers , Fibreglass and Aluminum bodywork available
- CSX6000-series Continuation of the CSX4000 Series
- CSX7000-series 289 FIA Cobra Roadster
- CSX8000-series 289 Street Car
- CSX9000-series Cobra "Daytona" Coupe , Released in 2009.
In 2003, the company name was changed to "Carroll Shelby International, Inc." from "Shelby American" and it was taken public. Shelby Automobiles was also created as a subsidiary and manufacturing arm of the new company.
On December 15, 2009, Carroll Shelby International announced in a press release that Shelby Automobiles was being renamed to "Shelby American" in celebration of the 45th anniversary of 427 Cobra and GT350.
Shelby Museum
The
Shelby Museum is located on the site. Free tours are available at 10:30am Monday through Friday of both the museum and the Cobra production facility.
The museum is always changing and includes some of the most famous cars ever produced from the first Cobra CSX2000 to prototypes of Series 1 and some of the latest creations.
Cobras
| COBRA PRODUCTION TOTALS 1962-65 |
| 260 Cobras Street Cars |
62 |
| Factory Teams Cars (initially 260 engines then updated to 289) |
4 |
| Factory Prepared Competition Cars (initially with 260 engines then updated to 289) |
1 |
| Independently-prepared competition race cars |
7 |
| Dragonsnake (initially 260 engines then updated to 289) |
1 |
| Total 260 Cobras |
75 |
| 289 Cobras | COBRA PRODUCTION TOTALS 1962-65 |
| Street Cobras |
455 |
| Standard Competition |
2 |
| Sebring Cobras |
3 |
| Le Mans Cobras |
3 |
| 427 Prototypes |
1 |
| 427 Prototypes "Flip-Top" |
1 |
FIAThe Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile is a non-profit association established as the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus on 20 June 1904 to represent the interests of motoring organisations and motor car users...
Roadsters |
5 |
Daytona CoupesThe Shelby Daytona Coupe was a coupé based loosely on the AC Cobra roadster chassis and drive-train. It was built for auto racing, specifically to take on Ferrari in the GT class. Just six Daytona original coupes were built between 1964 and 1965...
|
6 |
| USRRC The United States Road Racing Championship was created by the Sports Car Club of America in 1962. It was the first SCCA series for professional racing drivers. SCCA Executive Director John Bishop helped to create the series to recover races that had been taken by rival USAC Road Racing...
Roadsters |
6 |
| Total Factory Team Cars |
29 |
| Factory Prepared Competition Cobras |
|
| Standard Competition |
2 |
| Le Mans Prototype |
1 |
| Le Mans Replica |
3 |
| USRRC Roadsters |
5 |
| Independently-Prepared Race Cobras |
21 |
| Dragonsnake Cobras |
2 |
| COB/COX* Street Cobras |
60 |
| COB/COX* Race Cobra |
1 |
| Total 289 Cobras |
580 |
Total small block Cobras 655
- (COB - Cobras for Great Britain)
- (COX - Cobras for export other than to Great Britain)
| Coil Spring Big Block Cobras | COBRA PRODUCTION TOTALS 1962-65 |
| Street Cars |
260 |
| Prototype Competition Roadsters |
2 |
| Production Competition Roadsters |
19 |
| Semi-Competition Roadsters |
1 |
| Daytona Super Coupe |
1 |
| Chassis Only |
3 |
| COB/COX Cobras |
32 |
| 1965-67 427 & 428 Cobras |
348 |
Total Cobras Built 1,003
Shelby Mustang production totals 1965-70
1965
- GT 350 515
- GT 350R 36
- GT 350 Drag Cars 9
- GT 350 Street Prototype 1
- Competition Prototype GT 350 1
Total 1965 Shelby Mustangs 562
1966
- GT 350 1,370
- GT 350H 1,000
- GT 350 convertible
A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away having windows which wind-down inside the doors, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle...
s 6
- GT 350 Drag Cars 4
Total 1966 Shelby Mustangs 2,380
1967
Total 1967 Shelby Mustangs 3,225
1968
- GT 350 1,253
- GT 350 convertible 404
- GT 500 1,140
- GT 500 convertible 402
- GT 500KR 933
- GT 500KR convertible 318
- GT 500 Notchback Prototype 1 "Green Hornet"
Total 1968 Shelby Mustangs 4,451
1969 & 1970
- GT 350 935
- GT 350 convertible 194
- GT 500 1,536
- GT 500 convertible 335
- GT 350 Hertz Cars 15
- Prototype Test Cars 3
- Cars updated to 1970 est. 789
Total 1969-70 Shelby Mustangs 3,294
Shelby Cars Totals
Shelby Mustangs 13,912
Cobras 1,003
Total Shelby cars produced 14,915
External links