Carroll Shelby International was formed by
Carroll ShelbyCarroll Hall Shelby, is an American racing and automotive designer and former racing driver.-Automotive Executive of the Year Award - 2008 Honoree:...
in 2003 from Shelby American. The company is based at the
Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayLas Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada, 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 CountyClark County is a county located in Southern Nevada.The county had a population of 1,375,765 at the 2000 census, and a 2008 estimated population of 1,996,542, making it the most populous county in Nevada. It contains the city of Las Vegas, the state's most populous city. Las Vegas has been the...
,
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
.
Shelby American currently manufacturers component automobiles including the small block Cobra, the big block Cobra, and the
Shelby Series 1Shelby Series 1 was a high-performance roadster designed by Carroll Shelby and produced by Shelby American.It was powered by Oldsmobile's 4.0 L L47 Aurora V8 engine. It has 320 hp at 6500 rpm and will do 0-60 mph in better than 4.5 seconds and records 12.8 seconds in the quarter mile at...
. Shelby was to debut a new car, the Shelby Series 2, in August 2006, but no reports have been issued about the vehicle.
Carroll Shelby International was previously working with Texas-based Unique Performance to create new Mustang-based Shelby cars such as the
GT350SRThe Shelby Mustang is a high performance variant of the Ford Mustang, built by Ford from 1965 through 1970. The shelbys' were a series of Ford Mustangs which were specially modified by Carroll Shelby's company and sold under the name Shelby GT with identification badges Shelby Cobra. From 1968 the...
and
GT500EThe Shelby Mustang is a high performance variant of the Ford Mustang, built by Ford from 1965 through 1970. The shelbys' were a series of Ford Mustangs which were specially modified by Carroll Shelby's company and sold under the name Shelby GT with identification badges Shelby Cobra. From 1968 the...
.
Carroll Shelby International was formed by
Carroll ShelbyCarroll Hall Shelby, is an American racing and automotive designer and former racing driver.-Automotive Executive of the Year Award - 2008 Honoree:...
in 2003 from Shelby American. The company is based at the
Las Vegas Motor SpeedwayLas Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada, 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 CountyClark County is a county located in Southern Nevada.The county had a population of 1,375,765 at the 2000 census, and a 2008 estimated population of 1,996,542, making it the most populous county in Nevada. It contains the city of Las Vegas, the state's most populous city. Las Vegas has been the...
,
NevadaNevada is a state located in the western region of the United States. The capital is Carson City and the largest city is Las Vegas. The state's nickname is Silver State, due to the large number of silver deposits that were discovered and mined there...
.
Shelby American currently manufacturers component automobiles including the small block Cobra, the big block Cobra, and the
Shelby Series 1Shelby Series 1 was a high-performance roadster designed by Carroll Shelby and produced by Shelby American.It was powered by Oldsmobile's 4.0 L L47 Aurora V8 engine. It has 320 hp at 6500 rpm and will do 0-60 mph in better than 4.5 seconds and records 12.8 seconds in the quarter mile at...
. Shelby was to debut a new car, the Shelby Series 2, in August 2006, but no reports have been issued about the vehicle.
Carroll Shelby International was previously working with Texas-based Unique Performance to create new Mustang-based Shelby cars such as the
GT350SRThe Shelby Mustang is a high performance variant of the Ford Mustang, built by Ford from 1965 through 1970. The shelbys' were a series of Ford Mustangs which were specially modified by Carroll Shelby's company and sold under the name Shelby GT with identification badges Shelby Cobra. From 1968 the...
and
GT500EThe Shelby Mustang is a high performance variant of the Ford Mustang, built by Ford from 1965 through 1970. The shelbys' were a series of Ford Mustangs which were specially modified by Carroll Shelby's company and sold under the name Shelby GT with identification badges Shelby Cobra. From 1968 the...
. On November 1, 2007, Unique Performance was raided by the Farmers Branch 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...
irregularities and subsequently declared bankruptcy, which effectively ended the Shelby continuation "Eleanor" production.
History
Shelby American was founded by
Carroll ShelbyCarroll Hall Shelby, is an American racing and automotive designer and former racing driver.-Automotive Executive of the Year Award - 2008 Honoree:...
. 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. Production began in Dearborn, Michigan on March 9, 1964 and the car was introduced to the public on April 17, 1964 at the New York...
based Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT500. Shelby American also created the legendary Shelby Cobra which was an
AC AceAC Ace is a car made by AC Cars of Thames Ditton, England.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.
Shelby-American provided support for
Ford Motor CompanyThe Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation 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, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars of Sweden, and a small stake...
for their successful campaign to win
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, Sarthe, France...
.
Shelby American moved in 1995 to Nevada becoming the first automobile manufacturer in Nevada and began production. The line included:
- 427 S/C Cobras
- CSX4000-series
- CSX7000-series
- CSX8000-series
- Series 1'
In 2003, the
CSX1000-series was added and the company name was changed to Carroll Shelby International, Inc. and it was taken public.
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 |
| FIA Roadsters |
5 |
| Daytona Coupes |
6 |
| USRRC 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, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle. Many different automobile body styles are manufactured and marketed in convertible form....
s 6
- GT 350 Drag Cars 4
Total 1966 Shelby Mustangs 2,380
1967
- GT 350 1,175
- GT 500 2,048
- GT 500 Notchback Prototype 1
- GT 500 Convertible Prototype 1
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
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