Carroll Hall Shelby was an American automotive designer, racing driver and entrepreneur. He was best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and later the Mustang-based performance cars for Ford Motor Company known as Shelby Mustangs which he had done since 1965. His com...
Patrick Shelby, Michael Hall Shelby, Sharon Anne Shelby
Parents
Eloise and Warren Hall Shelby
Siblings
Anne Shelby Ellison
Nicknames
Carrol Shelby , Carol Shelby
Awards
1958 French Grand Prix (First entruy), 1959 Italian Grand Prix (Last Entry), Completed in competed in Formula One (1958, 1959)
Nominations
Automotive Hall of Fame, International Motor Sports Hall of Fame, Driver of the year (Sports Illustrated's 1956, 1957)
Star Sign
Capricorn
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Fact
1
Inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 1992.
2
Son of Warren Shelby, a rural mail carrier, and car enthusiast. He made his rounds in a 1928 Whippet. He served as a flight instructor in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He then worked in the Texas oil fields and became a chicken farmer.
3
He entered his first auto race in 1952, driving in a quarter-mile drag meet, then won road races in the Southwest. He wore striped bib coveralls because he didn't have time to change. It became his signature outfit.
4
He drove for the Aston-Martin team in 1954 at the race in Sebring, Florida. In November 1957 he won the 100-mile race at Riverside, California, in a one-seat Maserati.
5
The Shelby-American team's Ford GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 and 1967. They broke Ferrari's winning streak. He teamed with Roy Salvadori of Britain to win in their Aston-Martin.
6
He marketed a chili mix in 1969 and spent time in Africa in the 1970s hunting big game and organizing expeditions.
7
He founded a wheel company and an automobile club. He returned to sports car design in 1982. When Lee Iacocca was Chairman of Chrysler, he hired Shelby and they designed special-edition performance models of the Dodge Charger and other cars.
8
In 2003 he teamed with Ford in a partnership that included a new Mustang design. In 2005 he built the first Shelby Mustang Concept CSM:00001, with this car, he proved to Ford he can still built great cars. Then in 2007 he went to the New York Auto Show at the Jacob Javits Center to introduce the Ford GT500KR. Since 2005 there has been a whole line of Shelby cars til present day!.
9
He is survived by his wife, Cleo; his children, Patrick Shelby, Michael Shelby, and Sharon Shelby; and a sister Anne Shelby Ellison.
10
He had homes in the Bel Air hills of Los Angeles, CA; in Las Vegas, NV; and owned a ranch in Pittsburg, TX, where he raised miniature horses and African cattle while designing cars in his later years. He owned small vintage planes and numerous cars including his original Cobra.
11
In 1959 he was the second American-born driver to win the 24 hours of Le Mans in France. A heart ailment forced him to quit driving professionally in 1962. He founded Shelby American in 1962 to build his Cobra cars.
12
He partnered with Lee Iacocca of Ford in 1964 to create a high-performance Mustang version for racing. In January 1965 the first Shelby Mustang made its debut.
13
Developer of the Ford Mustang Shelby and Cobra.
14
Had a heart transplant in 1990. After after seeing two children die because they didn't get needed organs, he formed the Carroll Shelby Children's Foundation, which helps get needed organs for children.
15
Racecar driver on the Grand Prix circuit.
Actor
Title
Year
Status
Character
John Q
2002
Heart Transplant Patient (uncredited)
Miscellaneous
Title
Year
Status
Character
Grand Prix
1966
technical advisor
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Flying the Feathered Edge: The Bob Hoover Project
2014
Documentary
Drive
2005
TV Series
Himself (2005)
AutoRox Awards
2005
TV Special
Himself
Motor Trend Television
1995
TV Series
Himself (1997-2000)
The Car's the Star
1994
TV Series documentary
Himself - Shelby Motors
Speed Week
1957
Documentary short
Himself (uncredited)
Archive Footage
Title
Year
Status
Character
The Grand Tour
2016
TV Series
Himself
The 24 Hour War
2016
Documentary
Himself
Dan Gurney: Motorsports Legend
2014
Short
Himself
Modern Marvels
2002
TV Series documentary
Himself
Known for movies
Flying the Feathered Edge: The Bob Hoover Project (2014) as Actor
Drive (2005) as Himself (2005)
Motor Trend Television (1995) as Himself (1997-2000)
$40 Million
