http://enews.earthlink.net/article/us?guid=20120511/943b54a6-bf8e-4478-9de3-503c38f89695

May 11, 2012 3:58 PM EDT

DALLAS (AP) — Carroll Shelby, the legendary auto racer and car designer who built the fabled Shelby Cobra sports car and injected testosterone into Ford's Mustang and Chrysler's Viper, has died. He was 89.

Shelby's company, Carroll Shelby International, said Friday that Shelby died a day earlier at a Dallas hospital. He had received a heart transplant in 1990 and a kidney transplant in 1996.

He was one of the nation's longest-living heart transplant recipients, having received a heart on June 7, 1990, from a 34-year-old man who died of an aneurism. Shelby also received a kidney transplant in 1996 from his son, Michael.

sad day for shelby lovers and car nuts!!!

Hail Shelby!
Mrs. BGR (a gear head)

Four Shelby Cobras would make the Rocky Mountain Division SCCA circuit, then the RMVR (Rocky Mountain Vintage Racing) local races. Each car was original and each worth well north of $150,000 in 2002.

Legends are copied, and the Cobra was no exception. A kit car still drives around Turkey Creek Canyon, a blue replicar with a '90's Mustang engine.


Shelby had their own classification; the IROC race each year would more often than not feature Shelby Dodge or Shelby Mustang. It was extremely rare for aftermarket of that caliber to span manufacturers.


The waning years saw one of his last creations- a Shelby Northstar. The engine was a tuned Olds Aurora Northstar v8, the same stock engine in my car. I am humbled to know the powerplant has great pedigree.



Plus, who can dump the whole packet of cayenne pepper into the Carrol Shelby's chili?
we tried.

Once.

RIP, we stand in awe, master.

http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/2012 ... gend-dies/

p.s. there still exists a Cobra Museum in East Boulder, near the airport.

http://shelbyamericancollection.org/index.html

The whole packet of cayenne in his chili mix? Heck, I start there and add roasted habenaro, roasted poblano and if I can find....hatch chili's!


Carroll was more than a legend, he was a complete game changer in the world of auto racing and auto design.

For those that do not know....some of his most famous creations, race and street, are housed in a museum up in Boulder. It's only open Saturday mornings and the inventory is subject to each car owners whim. (they store the cars there and occasionally race/display them)

He has a museum in Boulder that contains some VERY rare historical race cars, including his 1968 winner from 24 hours of Lemans that broke the Ferrari dominance.

www.shelbyamericancollection.org/

This is a man who was bigger than life, we should all be so lucky to do for a living what he did with passion in every fiber of his being. The stories are fantastic and in many cases almost unbeleiveable.

RMVR is running this weekend at High Plains Raceway East of Byers. One very special Shelby GT350 mustang driven by 19 year old Kyle Hogan (RMVR's 2011 rockie of the year, Kyle knows how to drive) is signed on the Glove Box by Carrol Shelby, the car was built by Walt Hayne of Evergreen who was good friend of Mark Donahue back in the day.

Carroll was still active in the motorsports arena even up till recently having a significant contribution to the new (starting in 2005) Mustang as well as the new street version of the GT40.

The Boulder Shelby Museum has quite a collection and some valuable cars including GT40's and mark IV GT40, various mustangs and Cobras and a few of the original Daytona Coupes, each Daytona Coupe being worth Millions of dollars.

I had the pleasure of taking part in RMVR's spring driver school at PPIR 3 weeks back and in our run group was a Daytona Coupe Kit car, all finished out in vintage race livery. One of the best parts of the weekend was running through the road course section there with that Daytona Couple kitcar right in fromt of us as we can the carrousel turn, thru the esses and over the rumble strips. He had about 200 more H.P than I had so he went bye bye as we came out of corner 9 and back onto the Nascar oval but running with him throught the innfield was something I will never forget.

http://www.motortrend.com/features/cons ... z1uanljWAd

R.I.P. What a contribution he made...While I subscribe to the motto "friends don't let friends drive Ford's" ,I certainly respected everything he built...He was truly an innovator......

RIP Mr. Shelby.

Even though his Cobras consistently beat my beloved Stingrays I have nothing but respect for him and his legacy and if I could afford any car I would have a Shelby Cobra....there I said it.

Watched a Cobra roadster run off and leave everybody that was following it, a few years ago N/B in Turkey Creek Canyon...from the sound of that motor, it had some exhaust cut-outs working...

Although, in MHO, the Ford GT40, for all-time best automotive design, is chronologically third...only to the 1932 Ford Roadster, and the 1940 Ford Coupe. Would have included the Cobra, but it was an AC Bristol design.

Check the youtube videos for 'Hey, Little Cobra' - the Rip Chords