Shelby Automobiles is honoring the 45th anniversary of the 427 Cobra and Shelby GT350 by consolidating its operations under the Shelby American banner.
Carroll Shelby founded the original Shelby American in 1962 to create the legendary sports cars and muscle cars that forever changed the performance world, and it is only fitting that Shelby Automobiles join the original team.
“Enthusiasts have asked us many times to bring back the Shelby American name,” said Carroll Shelby. “Though I’m proud of the cars that we built as Shelby Automobiles, we’re fulfilling that wish for fans worldwide. Using the Shelby American name will better connect our current vehicles to our heritage of building great cars like the GT350 and Cobra.”
One of America’s greatest race car drivers, Shelby dominated sports car racing in the mid-1950s, including a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After retiring from racing due to a heart ailment, he founded Shelby American to manufacture performance cars. His band of hot rodders created the legendary Cobra sports car in 1962. Three years later, they unveiled a big-block version of the Cobra.
About that same time, Ford asked Shelby to turn the Mustang into a muscle car. The Shelby team put Mustang at the pinnacle of the performance world with the Shelby GT350 and, later, the Shelby GT500.
Shelby American also offered high performance parts, modified cars for individuals, and was involved in racing. From drag strip triumphs to victories at Le Mans and America’s first World Manufacturer’s Championship, Shelby cars dominated performance circles.
“We’re still building genuine Shelby Cobras and have been involved in some of the most exciting Mustangs ever to wear a Shelby badge,” added Amy Boylan, president of Shelby American. “With the anniversary of Shelby American’s two most revered models, it’s the right time to return to our roots through a name change. And just like the 1960s, the Shelby American name will soon appear on one of the most exciting vehicles we’ve ever built.”
Since 2006, Shelby Automobiles has been building small- and big-block Cobras. The company also worked with Ford to build 1,571 ’08-’09 Shelby GT500KRs and approximately 5,500 ’07-’08 Shelby GT Mustangs. Shelby Automobiles also built 500 Shelby GT-H coupes in 2006 and 500 Shelby GT-H convertibles in 2007 for the Hertz Corporation.
Shelby American will continue to offer Cobras, along with the Super Snake, Prudhomme drag racing edition, and “SE” post-title packages for the ’07-’10 Shelby GT500. Fans can also have a post-title Terlingua Racing Team package installed on 2005-2009 V6 Ford Mustangs or the “SR” package for ’05-’09 Mustang GTs. The Shelby “SC” and “SR” post title packages are also available for the ’07 and ’08 Shelby GT.