End of an Era: Carroll Shelby passes at 89
Words by Niky Tamayo



The first inkling that British lawmakers had that speed limits might be a good idea was a day back in 1963 when a small British sportscar with a big American engine did 185 mph on the fabled M1... or so the story goes. In 1965, Ford produced a limited run of high-performance Mustangs, co-built with the small racing shop that built that 185 monster. They leased a number of these to Hertz Rent-A-Car, calling them the GT350H. These rental racers were so good that some came back from customers with the engines swapped out. When Hertz returned the whole consignment, even more of the cars had had those upgrades... borrowed.

In the early 60’s, the Ford GT40 racing program, borne of Henry Ford's hate for Enzo Ferrari, was faltering. But in 1966, that same small racing shop straightened out the racing program, and the GT40 came in first, second, and third at LeMans.

Such is the legend of Carroll Hall Shelby. Responsible for some of the most iconic cars in history. Sadly, the great man passed away last May 11, 2012 at the age of 89.