Carroll Shelby dead at 89

cbrsurfr

Golden Member
Jul 15, 2000
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Searched, didn't see this posted...

R.I.P Carroll

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/11/carroll-shelby-passes-away-at-age-89/

Carroll Shelby has passed away at the age of 89. The legendary tuner and proprietor of the famous marque that bears his name had been in the hospital for several weeks, suffering from pneumonia. Shelby addressed his fans fourteen days before his death, saying that he was resting comfortably and being taken care of by his children.

Anyone familiar in the least with automotive history is well aware of Shelby's vast vehicular exploits, so we'll just touch on them here. Carroll was a successful race car driver in the 1950s before creating his own racing team to take on the likes of Ferrari, using Ford-powered sportscar called the Cobra. Suffice it to say, Shelby and his Cobra were extremely successful. Later, Shelby's name would become synonymous with the fastest and most powerful Ford Mustang models ever created.

Shelby is survived by his three children Patrick, Michael and Sharon, his sister Anne Shelby Ellison of Fort Worth and his wife Cleo. An official press release can be found below.




Dallas – May 11, 2012 – Carroll Shelby International, Inc., (OTC: CSBI.PK) announced today that Carroll Hall Shelby, a man whose vision for performance transformed the automobile industry, has died at age 89. Mr. Shelby passed away yesterday at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. The cause of death was not disclosed.

Born on Jan. 11, 1923, Carroll Shelby was one of America's greatest success stories. Championship-winning racecar driver, "flying sergeant" wartime pilot, philanthropist, entrepreneur, car manufacturer and racing team owner, he embodied the ingenuity, tenacity and grit to overcome any obstacle. He is perhaps the only person to have worked at a visible level with all three major American automobile manufacturers.
Carroll Shelby founded Carroll Shelby International, a publicly held corporation involved in many industries. His licensing arm has agreements with industry giants, such as Mattel, Sony, Ford Motor Company and Electronic Arts. His car company, Shelby American, has a thriving parts business as well as a line of muscle cars including the Shelby GT500 Super Snake, Shelby GT350 and Shelby GTS. The Las Vegas-based company also manufactures a limited number of the 1960s Shelby 289 "street," 289 FIA, 427 S/C and Daytona Coupe Cobras.

Shelby considered his greatest achievement to be the establishment of the Carroll Shelby Foundation™. Created in 1992 while Shelby was waiting for a heart transplant, the charity is dedicated to providing medical assistance for those in need, including children, educational opportunities for young people through automotive and other training programs and benefitting the Carroll Shelby Automotive Foundation.

Shelby remained active in the management of each of his companies and the Foundation until his death, even though he endured both heart and kidney transplants in the last two decades of his life.

"We are all deeply saddened, and feel a tremendous sense of loss for Carroll's family, ourselves and the entire automotive industry," said Joe Conway, president of Carroll Shelby International, Inc. and board member. "There has been no one like Carroll Shelby and never will be. However, we promised Carroll we would carry on, and he put the team, the products and the vision in place to do just that."

Shelby is survived by his three children Patrick, Michael and Sharon, his sister Anne Shelby Ellison of Fort Worth and his wife Cleo. Funeral plans are not currently available. Donations to the Carroll Shelby Foundation are encouraged in lieu of flowers. Information about the Carroll Shelby Foundation is available at www.carrollshelbyfoundation.org.

About Shelby American, Inc.

Founded by legend Carroll Shelby, Shelby American manufactures and markets performance vehicles and related products. Now a subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International, Inc., the company manufactures authentic continuation Cobras, including the 427 S/C, 289 FIA and 289 street car component vehicles. The company offers the GT350, GT500 Super Snake and GTS post-title packages for the current generation Ford Mustang. For more information, visit www.shelbyamerican.com.

About Carroll Shelby Licensing

Automotive manufacturer and entrepreneur Carroll Shelby is one of the most famous and successful high performance visionaries in the world, and he has spent the last 50 years establishing and protecting his name, trademarks and car design rights. He founded Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc., which has the exclusive right to license the Shelby trademarks and vehicle design rights for some of the most famous muscle cars and high-performance vehicles. CSL also holds trademark rights for Shelby-branded apparel, accessories and collectibles. For more information about the company or licensing opportunities, call (310) 914-1843, or fax (310) 538-8189 or write to Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc., 19021 S Figueroa St., Gardena, CA, 90248, or visit www.carrollshelby.com, www.shelbylicensing.com or www.carrollshelbyinternational.com.

About The Carroll Shelby Foundation

The Carroll Shelby Foundation was created by legendary racer and automotive manufacturer Carroll Shelby. Headquartered in Gardena, Calif., the Foundation is dedicated to providing medical assistance for those in need, including children, educational opportunities for young people through automotive and other training programs and benefitting the Shelby Automotive Foundation. For more information visit CarrollShelbyFoundation.org.
 
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CurseTheSky

Diamond Member
Oct 21, 2006
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R.I.P. :( Love him or hate him, he definitely oversaw the production of some pretty badass cars.
 

Fritzo

Lifer
Jan 3, 2001
41,920
2,161
126
*sniff*

The Cobra still makes me want to touch myself:

1967_shelby_cobra-pic-30251.jpeg
 

shortylickens

No Lifer
Jul 15, 2003
80,287
17,081
136
Thats a shame. I just saw a documentary on him last month. Guy seemed full of vim, vigor and vitality.
 

blankslate

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2008
8,788
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R.I.P. at least they're still making Muscle Cars... He didn't have to see the end of that era.
 

Perknose

Forum Director & Omnipotent Overlord
Forum Director
Oct 9, 1999
46,812
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The Shelby A/C Cobra and the original Mustang GT350 are two of my favorite period cars.

I'll never forget reading a road test wherein a Cobra went 0 to 100 and back to 0 in less than 10 seconds, at a time, nearly 50 freaking years ago, when that was something else again.

The guy took on then dominant Ferrari and whipped their ass at Le Mans.

Something of an endlessly self-promoting cowboy in his later years to some, he definitely lived life on his own terms and achieved some genuinely awesome stuff.
 

Pantlegz

Diamond Member
Jun 6, 2007
4,627
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81
Damn, I knew he was getting old but it's one of those things you never expect. The man was a genius and a visionary. RIP
 

Bubbaleone

Golden Member
Nov 20, 2011
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Always the consummate innovator, Carroll Shelby chose the 1962 AC Bristol "Ace" as the basis of what would become his legendary Cobra 427 S/C.

1962 AC Bristol "Ace"

ac-bristol.jpg


Carroll Shelby and the Cobra

In 1962 AC Bristol was approached by Carroll Shelby to use a small block Ford V8 engine in the Ace chassis, producing the AC Cobra. Shelby needed a car that could compete with the Chevrolet Corvette in US sports car racing. The resulting Cobra was a very powerful roadster.At the end of the 1964 racing season, the Cobra was being outclassed in sports car racing by Ferrari. Carroll Shelby decided he needed a bigger engine.

A big block Ford FE series 390 V8 was installed in a Cobra and the result was scary - the car was virtually undrivable. It was decided that a completely new chassis was needed. With the combined help of Ford’s computers and the experience of the AC Bristol engineers, the new MKIII was born with 4-inch (100mm) main tubes instead of 3-inch (75mm) for the chassis, huge cross-braced shock towers and coil springs all around. This, along with a bigger 427ci version of the FE, made the new AC Cobra MKIII an absolutely unbeatable 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) race car.

Specifically, the engine that was installed in the car was Ford's famed 427 FE NASCAR "Side-Oiler" V8, a power-house engine developing 385 bhp (287 kW) in its mildest street version. Unfortunately, the car missed homologation for the 1965 season and was not raced by the Shelby team. However, it was raced successfully by many privateers and went on to win races all the way into the 1970s.

The AC 427 Cobra, although a commercial failure when in production, has now become one of the most sought-after and replicated automobiles ever. It was produced in two versions, a street model with a tamer motor, optional dual carburetors, a glove box and exhaust running under the car and a competition version with a stripped interior, no glove box, different instrument layout and revised suspension.

The competition version also had a more powerful motor with only one carburetor, side exhausts, a roll bar and wider fenders to accommodate racing tires. At the end in 1966, Shelby was left with 31 unsold competition cars; he decided to sell them to the general public under the name of Cobra 427 S/C or Super Competition. Today these S/C cars are the most sought after models and can sell in excess of 1.5 million dollars. Carroll Shelby sold the Cobra name to Ford in 1965 and went on to develop the famed racing Ford GT40.

Legends Never Die..R.I.P
 

Soundmanred

Lifer
Oct 26, 2006
10,780
6
81
Update:
Dallas – May 12, 2012 – Carroll Shelby International, Inc., (OTC: CSBI.PK) announced today that Carroll Hall Shelby, a man whose vision for performance transformed the automobile industry, died yesterday at age 89. Mr. Shelby passed away yesterday at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. The cause of death was disclosed as a heart attack after an anonymous caller asked him to produce a Shelby version of the popular BMW M3.

RIP you magnificent bastard.
 

alkemyst

No Lifer
Feb 13, 2001
83,769
19
81
Update:
Dallas – May 12, 2012 – Carroll Shelby International, Inc., (OTC: CSBI.PK) announced today that Carroll Hall Shelby, a man whose vision for performance transformed the automobile industry, died yesterday at age 89. Mr. Shelby passed away yesterday at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. The cause of death was disclosed as a heart attack after an anonymous caller asked him to produce a Shelby version of the popular BMW M3.

RIP you magnificent bastard.

yeah, fucking dumbass couldn't handle something that awesome. He just put out cookie cutter cars in his later years.
 

bruceb

Diamond Member
Aug 20, 2004
8,874
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Even though I am not a Ford fan, he did make some nice cars and was a good person. He will be missed by all. Rest In Peace.