Carroll Shelby to Receive Life Achievement Award
This has been a good year for automotive design legend Carroll Shelby, 85. He was named the 2008 Automotive Executive of the Year and is set to pick up a Lifetime Achievement Award for Excellence co-sponsored by DNV Certification and the Automotive Industry Action Group. Shelby has come a long way from Leesburg, Texas. After a stint in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II and a failed post-war effort as a chicken farmer, Shelby got behind the wheel of a race car and found his true calling in life -- speed in the best high performance machines to be found.
All you have to do to understand Shelby’s legacy is to consider the specs on the 2008 Shelby Mustang GT. There are only 2,300 and in theory they start around $35,000, but truth be told, they go to the highest bidder. Available as both a coupe and a convertible, the GT is sporting a new Vista Blue exterior with trademark Shelby silver stripes. There’s a 4.6-liter V8 under the hood pumping out 319 hp with 330 lb-ft of torque, more than enough to make your agent start talking liability insurance with a vengeance. (Finding cheap insurance on this baby? Forget it. Sure, you may just take it to the track for a couple of laps on the weekend and claim it’s a “regular” car during the week, but frankly, that story just won’t wash.)
Not dangerous enough for you? Opt for the Shelby GT500KR “King of the Road” Mustang, rumored to be the most powerful production Mustang ever to meet the pavement at 500 hp. With a production run of 1,000, the car carries the coveted mark of Shelby exclusivity. There will be 10,000 GT500s made and it puts out 500 hp as well. Not quite as exclusive, perhaps, but still a speed demon and still bearing the provenance of a real Shelby, that trunk badge that tells the world you drive a premium performance car. All three are the descendants of Carroll Shelby’s relentless pursuit of automotive perfection that began when he left the track.
Shelby retired from racing in October 1959, taught high performance driving for awhile, and then got into designing. The Cobra cars sprang from his shop using an AC chassis and Ford engines and of course, there are the incomparable Mustangs for which he is so well known. Additionally, he’s worked with Dodge and Oldsmobile and was the designer of the Dodge Viper. In 1991 Shelby was named to the International Motorsports Hall of Fame and in 1992 joined the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America. Returning to Ford in 2003, Shelby served as technical advisor on the Ford GT, also forming Carroll Shelby International Inc. based in Nevada.
By 2004 a Ford Shelby Cobra Concept was making the rounds at car shows with vintage 1960s styling and a 6.4-liter V10 that pumped out 605 hp. Needless to say, the reception was positive. A coupe version appeared the next year. In 2005 at the New York International Auto Show, the Shelby GT500 made its public debut and was put on sale during the summer of 2006 branded as a 2007 model. In theory Shelby had no hands on involvement in the design; he just mentioned some things to make it better, and better it was. With around $1,000 in modification the GT500 became a car that could exceed 650 hp with torque topping 600 lb-ft. A suggestion from Carroll Shelby is an innovation in anyone else’s book.
In his spare time Shelby founded the Terlingua International Chili Championship in Terlingua, Texas, producing a popular line of chili mixes -- appropriate for a guy who has led a fast-paced, spicy life behind the wheel. (He’s dabbled in speed boats too.) Although Shelby has received many awards in his life, the Lifetime Achievement recognition is long overdue. He’s been the force behind iconic, legendary American cars -- test pilot, chicken farmer, race car driver, designer, and chili king -- Shelby has done all that and more with standards of professionalism and excellence that truly make him an American automotive legend.