Carroll Shelby Intl Inc (CSBI)

[Papa Bear]

Since the early 1960s, Carroll Shelby has built some of the fastest, most outrageous automobiles ever to hit the streets. Yet the real reason he's a household name today is that he backed up his street creds with race wins. In fact, when the Shelby American company was formed, it was with the intention of winning GT races against the all-conquering Ferraris. Here's a short history on some of his more notable comp cars


The Shelby American story starts in 1962 with the legendary Cobra. No sooner had Shelby finished the first prototype to show Ford what it had been spending its money on then he started fabricating the first Cobra racing car. It was a quick-and-dirty race-prep job with a mildly modified Ford 260-inch engine, 16-inch wire wheels, a roll bar and some minor beefing-up. Sporting less than 275 hp, it didn't seem like much compared to a 375-hp fuel-injected Corvette—until the flag fell!