Shelby American, Inc.
A Company Changes
With changes in government regulations looming and skyrocketing fuel costs, Shelby American ceased building production cars in the late 1960s; the company evolved into a performance hot spot that consulted special projects for automakers. This included the development of several key vehicles for Chrysler that helped restore the struggling carmaker's image. Among those legendary vehicles was the Dodge Viper, which sparked a new super car competition among auto manufacturers in the United States. Shelby even drove the new Viper as the pace car during the 1996 Indianapolis 500.
In 1996, Shelby American, which was named Shelby Automobiles for a few years, opened a manufacturing facility at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. From this new state-of-the-art facility, the company began to build continuation Cobra 427 S/C, Cobra 289 FIA and street Cobra component vehicles. While still true to their heritage, these genuine Cobras incorporate subtle updates to make it even more enjoyable to own than those built in the 1960s.
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Coming Full Circle
Ford Motor Company asked Carroll Shelby and his team to consult on the Ford GT in 2004. Two years later, Shelby and Ford formed a new relationship to once again build high performance vehicles. That program accelerated in 2005 when Carroll reenergized the company with a new series of high performance vehicles built in cooperation with Ford Motor Company. Working with the Ford Racing, Ford SVT and the Ford new car branding team, the relationship resulted in a string of cars that returned Shelby vehicles to the top of enthusiast wish lists worldwide.
A New Rent-A-Racer
Forty years after their pioneering effort in 1966, Shelby, Ford Motor Company and The Hertz Corporation once again joined forces to build the ultimate weekend getaway vehicle, the Shelby GT-H (H for "Hertz"). Based on the Ford Mustang, the Shelby GT-H is instantly recognizable with its deep black exterior set off with gold Le Mans racing stripes. This steed is fitted with a custom Shelby Performance hood with pins and a brushed aluminum grille with running horse emblem. And with the help of Ford Racing and a 325HP 4.6-liter 3V V-8 engine, this machine is pure American muscle.
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