Colin Comer

Richard J. Kopec

Six Decades of Shelby performance—from the first Shelby AC Cobra to today’s Mustang Shelby GT500! A bad heart forced Carroll Shelby, one of the top racing drivers of all time, to retire in 1960. But that didn’t stop the lanky Texan from continuing to make history. He launched Shelby American in 1962 with the creation of the brilliant Ford-powered AC Cobra, soon to dominate both U.S. and international sports car racing. Shelby’s winning ways soon led to Ford seeking Shelby’s team of “hot rodders” help to make the Ford GT program a success. It worked. Shelby and Ford soon stunned the motorsports world by winning Le Mans and dominating other venues from 1966 to 1969 with the GT40. Fifty-three years later the legendary first Le Mans win of 1966 would form the basis for the acclaimed filmFord Versus Ferrari. As if the Cobra, Daytona Coupe, and GT40 were not enough, this small team of hot rodders, fabricators, and race mechanics also created the Shelby Mustang GT350 in 1965, and the GT500 two years later. Shelby American was nothing short of lightning in a bottle from 1962-1970. Shelby American 60 Years of High Performance covers all of these early triumphs, following the proceedings from a small shop in Venice, California, to sprawling digs at LAX all the while developing new road cars, running a top race team, and giving privateer racers the cars they needed to win. Get to know Shelby, as well as the innovators who surrounded him, including designer Peter Brock, genius engineer Phil Remington, “Mr. GT350” Chuck Cantwell, and a roster of top drivers that included Ken Miles, Bob Bondurant, Dan Gurney, Bruce McLaren, Denny Hulme, A.J. Foyt, Mario Andretti, and more. Authors Colin Comer and Rick Kopec, leading Shelby historians, follow the Shelby story through Carroll’s post-Ford relationship with Dodge, including his roles in the giant-killing, pocket-rocket Shelby Charger, GLH (“Goes Like Hell”), and GLH-S cars along with a slew of other Shelby-ized machines including his role in the birth and development of the menacing Dodge Viper. The story of the late Carroll Shelby and the company he founded is a classic tale of ingenuity, grit, and perseverance. Illustrated throughout with rare period imagery and modern color photography, Shelby American 60 Years of High Performance is the ultimate tribute to Shelby American and the team that made it all happen.

The Stories Behind the Cobra, Daytona, Mustang GT350 and GT500, Ford GT40 and More

Shelby American 60 Years of High Performance

Celebrate six decades of Carroll Shelby's brand of automotive excitement with Shelby American 60 Years of High Performance. Cobra, GT40, Daytona Coupe, King Cobra, Mustang GT350, and more are covered in this officially licensed, heavily illustrated overview.

David Newhardt

Randy Leffingwell

Darwin Holmstrom

Joe Oldham

Jim Wangers

The birth of the muscle car, mid-sized cars with big engines making big horsepower, marked not only a revolution in performanceâ€”but also a revolution in marketing. For the first time ever, car manufacturers tailored their product to a youth audience. The genre thrived in the 60s and early 70s and was reborn in the 21st century. The All-American Muscle Car celebrates the fifty-year history of the breed through stunning modern and archival photography, and brilliant essays from todayâ€™s top muscle-car writers. Organized by themes, its chapters cover the introduction and early years of muscle; the cultural trends that made muscle cars so wildly popular; the pop culture that surrounded the cars in music, film, and television; and racing, both legal and illegal. Great rivalries are detailedâ€”Camaro versus Mustang versus Firebird versus Challenger versus â€˜Cuda, GTO versus Road Runner versus Super Bee versus Chevelle SS versus Buick Gran Sport versus Oldsmobile 4-4-2, and the like. The book also explores the illogical extremes at the end of the classic era, the Plymouth Superbirds, GTOJudges, LS6 Chevelles, Hemi â€˜Cudas, W-30 Oldsmobiles, Ram Air IV Pontiacs, Stage I GSX Buicks, and 440/6 Road Runners; the dark years and the death of performance; the rebirth of the muscle car; and the modern interpretations of the breed including the new Camaro, Mustang, and Challenger.

The Birth, Death and Resurrection of Detroit's Greatest Performance Cars

The All-American Muscle Car

Shelby Mustang

Cobra, Mustang, GT 40

Shelby

Shelby Mustang details the entire story of these fantastic cars, from the early prototypes built in Shelby's Los Angeles shop to today's Ford-engineered high-tech performers. Written by one of the world's foremost authorities on Shelby automobiles, critically acclaimed author Colin Comer, and with a foreword by Lee Iacocca, the American automobile executive credited with the successful development of the Mustang, this is the definitive account of the Shelby. When Ford wanted to toughen up its super-successful new Mustang, they approached Carroll Shelby to give it the performance image it so sorely lacked. Beginning with a 1965 "K-Code" 289-cubic-inch-powered Mustang fastback, Shelby applied the same formula that had made his Cobra sports cars such devastating performers both on and off the track: more horsepower, less weight, balanced handling. The GT350 quickly established itself as a bonafide force in SCCA B-Production racing, twisting back roads, and boulevards alike—setting the course for future Shelby Mustangs, like the big-block GT500. Though those original Shelby Mustangs were done by 1970, Ford dusted off its Shelby relationship in 2006 and has been producing high-performance Ford Mustang Shelbys ever since. This is a must-have read for any fan of American performance cars, whether you're a muscle-era original or a 21st-century stormer.

The Total Performance Pony Car

"Celebrate America's premier performance car! From the original Shelby Mustang GT350 to today's 700-plus horsepower GT500, Carroll Shelby and Ford Motor Co. have defined high-performance with their Shelby Mustangs. Shelby built his Mustangs from 1965 until 1970, at a time when it seemed that the muscle car was a dying breed. Then an odd thing happened-people began to realize the classic nature of the car almost as soon as Shelby stopped building them and prices began to climb. By the end of the decade, the Shelby Mustang had become one of the first muscle cars to attain classic status, along with the price hike that went along with that recognition. Prices continued to rise into the next century; a 1967 Shelby Mustang GT500 fetched $451,000 at auction in 2006, at which time production of new Shelby Mustangs began for the first time in 36 years. Since then prices have cooled a bit, but not nearly as much as they have for other muscle cars; Shelby Mustangs still occupy the top slot at most auctions and Shelby continues to build the popular modern versions of the Mustang today. [This book] tells the story of these amazing cars, from the initial collaboration with Ford to today's record-setting high-tech muscle cars."--Publisher description.

Shelby Mustang Fifty Years

Shelby Cobra Fifty Years

In the early 1960s, Carroll Shelby, a Texas chicken farmer turned champion race driver, had the audacity to think he could start his own car manufacturing company. To further emphasize the gargantuan proportions of his confidence, Shelby decided his company would manufacture nothing but ultra-high-performance sports cars, beginning with the landmark Cobra, introduced in 1962. To the amazement of everyone except Ol' Shel' himself, Shelby Automobiles succeeded beyond anyone's wildest expectations, building cars that would provide benchmarks for performance that stand to this day and winning world championships in the process. Shelby Cobra is a complete history of Shelby's Cobra sports cars. It begins with the events that led up to Shelby's decision to build a high-performance sports car, continues with the story of the production Cobra street cars and racecars, and wraps up with Shelby's continuation cars. This special collector's edition includes new and updated material, with tributes to the late Carroll Shelby, poster-sized gatefolds with artwork by Hector Cadametori, and framable garage art.

The Snake that Conquered the World

Shelby Cobra

Shelbys are the most iconic performance cars in the history of the American auto industry. This lavishly illustrated work conducts readers through Shelby American's forty-plus years. An exhaustive review of American high performance, from the first Cobra produced in 1962 through today's fire-breathing, world-beating Shelby GT500KR Mustang, The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles offers an in-depth look at the ultra high-performance cars that have made Carroll Shelby a living automotive legend. With extensive details, specs, and photographic coverage, this book is the ultimate resource on America’s most exotic performance car. See Motorbooks author Colin Comer interviewed by Jay Leno on JayLenosGarage.com: http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/jays-book-club-lee-klancher/1211582/

Cobras, Mustangs, and Super Snakes

The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles

Lorsque des problèmes de santé ont mis un terme brutal à sa carrière de pilote automobile, Carroll Shelby s'est lancé dans l'impossible : créer sa propre société automobile et entreprendre la fabrication d'une voiture de sport capable de surpasser les meilleures du monde. En matière de performances, ses voitures sont devenues des références mondiales, remportant au passage un Championnat du monde. Ce bel ouvrage retrace l'histoire complète des Shelby Cobra. Il célèbre la voiture de sport hybride anglo-américaine de Carroll Shelby, rappelle les étonnantes réussites de ce créateur de talent qui nous a quittés en 2012, sans oublier l'inestimable contribution de son équipe. Une oeuvre qui comblera tous les passionnés de Cobra, de Shelby, de compétition, ou de tous ceux qui seront heureux de découvrir une belle success story américaine.

Colin Comer

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