Carroll Shelby dead at 89
#1
05-11-2012, 03:59 PM
Carroll Shelby dead at 89
not sure if there was a thread, i didn't see one (if so, just delete)
http://content.usatoday.com/communit...f-cobra-dies/1
the Texan who created the famous Shelby Cobra and uncounted other high-performance machines that turned the auto world on its ear, and made it a whole lot more fun for 50 years, died in Dallas Thursday night at age 89. He had been hospitalized for pneumonia.
Shelby, who affected the aw-shucks demeanor of the chicken farmer he once was, said, "I never made a damn dime until I started doing what I wanted."What he wanted was, if you will, power for the people, automotively speaking."I love horsepower," he said more than once.Beyond just his efforts in the small world of hot-rodding, Shelby influenced how Detroit automakers thought about high-performance, and he proved that hard work and bit of guile can make a hero.But to achieve that, he had to jump from chicken-raising — his fowl all died of a disease one year — and into full-time auto racing, which he'd been doing on the side, in the 1950s. He was a success — at first continuing to wear the work overalls that he did as a farmer — and parlayed that reputation into a foothold as a car builder.The litany of significant cars he created is long, running from the original 1962 AC Cobra — small British sports car with a big (for the times) Ford engine — through a sojourn at Chrysler and a stint with GM via a failed Oldsmobile-powered car, back to Ford. He was involved with development of Ford's GT 500 Mustang, the 2013 version of which is certified as the most-powerful regular-production car in the world.
PHOTO GALLERIES:
Shelby's famous pedal-to-the metal cars
Shelby's latest: The 1,100-horsepower Mustang
http://content.usatoday.com/communit...f-cobra-dies/1
the Texan who created the famous Shelby Cobra and uncounted other high-performance machines that turned the auto world on its ear, and made it a whole lot more fun for 50 years, died in Dallas Thursday night at age 89. He had been hospitalized for pneumonia.
Shelby, who affected the aw-shucks demeanor of the chicken farmer he once was, said, "I never made a damn dime until I started doing what I wanted."What he wanted was, if you will, power for the people, automotively speaking."I love horsepower," he said more than once.Beyond just his efforts in the small world of hot-rodding, Shelby influenced how Detroit automakers thought about high-performance, and he proved that hard work and bit of guile can make a hero.But to achieve that, he had to jump from chicken-raising — his fowl all died of a disease one year — and into full-time auto racing, which he'd been doing on the side, in the 1950s. He was a success — at first continuing to wear the work overalls that he did as a farmer — and parlayed that reputation into a foothold as a car builder.The litany of significant cars he created is long, running from the original 1962 AC Cobra — small British sports car with a big (for the times) Ford engine — through a sojourn at Chrysler and a stint with GM via a failed Oldsmobile-powered car, back to Ford. He was involved with development of Ford's GT 500 Mustang, the 2013 version of which is certified as the most-powerful regular-production car in the world.
PHOTO GALLERIES:
Shelby's famous pedal-to-the metal cars
Shelby's latest: The 1,100-horsepower Mustang
#2
05-11-2012, 05:33 PM
Yes, the most famous East Texas chicken farmer and huckster got a lot of extra years from his heart transplant... Can you imagine what it would be like to win the 1957 Le Mans 24 hour Gran Prix while eating nitroglycerine tablets to control the pain of angina followed by early retirement as a chicken farmer and going broke?
#5
05-11-2012, 10:48 PM
This is the first I've heard of it. His 68 Shelby Mustang was my first experience in High Performance and is where I got the performance and octane bug. He will be missed.
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