Article by Jake Grubb
“I’m just a poor chicken farmer from east Texas who loves cars and airplanes,” was Carroll Shelby’s oft-quoted statement throughout a lifetime of racing and car-building successes. True to form, the American iconoclast who burst onto the world stage in a driving suit consisting of Farmer-John bib overalls at the 1959 Le Mans 24-hours, never wavered from his over-simplified self-description for all of his 89 illustrious years. And oh by the way, Shelby won that ’59 Le Mans race in a factory Aston Martin with British co-driver Roy Salvadori, the first and only win at the Circuit de la Sarthe for Aston Martin in history.
But Shelby had an itchy vision. When he later embarked on his persistent idea of mounting a powerful Ford V8 engine into the lightweight British AC Ace sports car, little did he realize that the resulting creation would change the face of auto racing in the USA and Abroad, and would permanently impact American motor sport culture for the ages.
When Carroll Shelby hatched his original concept of what would become the Shelby Cobra in early 1961, he couldn’t have imagined a gathering 60 years hence that would represent decades of Shelby Cobras, Shelby Ford GT 350 Mustangs and other Shelby masterworks, six full decades from that first rough-hewn Shelby Cobra prototype. All this, with his namesake cars sharing a southern California airport tarmac not unlike his 1960s Shelby American headquarters at Los Angeles International Airport. But on this particular March, 2021 day, magnificent examples of Carroll Shelby’s progeny shared a private corner of the John Wayne Airport in Orange County, California, with restored WWII aircraft of the kind that Shelby himself piloted as a young man.
60-years hence from the napkin-sketch of that first Shelby Cobra prototype in 1961, the renowned Lyon Air Museum in Costa Mesa, California hosted a gathering of iconic Shelby cars on March 13th, 2021, including original factory racing team 289 Cobras from the early ‘60s, 427 factory competition and street Cobras from the mid-late 1960s, Shelby Ford 350 Mustangs (race and street) from the mid-1960s and recent 2000s, and authentic replica Shelby Cobras from the 1990s and 2000s, such as the masterworks from Superformance, Inc.
Front and center at this rare and special event was the first production Shelby Cobra ever built, CSX 2001. This car, built in July 1962, originally debuted at the New York Auto Show, after which it was sold to one Lloyd “Lucky” Casner, owner of the CAMORADI racing team. Initially outclassed on the racetrack by the Shelby factory F.I.A. Cobras, CSX 2001 was later sent to Shelby’s European Garage, where it was converted to full F.I.A. racing specification, as it remains today. This famous 289 Cobra was the only Cobra to compete in the renowned Tour de France and successfully competed in many European hill climbs from 1964 to 1966. Its condition remains intact today, under the caring ownership of noted collector and Petersen Museum co-founder Bruce Meyer.
Handsomely representing the “monster” version of the Cobra lineage was an early example of the CSX4000 series, an aluminum body “continuation” Shelby Cobra powered by a cast aluminum 427 Ford big block V8 engine with an output of 500+ horsepower. Sporting an original Ford Top Loader 4-speed gearbox, this car was tested at 0-60 mph in 4.0 seconds, with a top speed of 155 mph. Revered Shelby factory driver Ken Miles once demonstrated that a similar Cobra to this one was capable of 0-100 mph and back down to 0 in 13.8 seconds, on race tires, and 14.5 seconds on street tires! From 1961 to 1968, Shelby American built 998 Cobras, of which 348 were 427-powered.
Originally an airplane pilot while in the military, Carroll Shelby was a war bird flight instructor during WWII. Fittingly, the 2021 60-year Tribute to Shelby at the Lyon Air Museum featured a rare selection of Shelby Cobras positioned amidst a daunting array of beautifully restored WWII planes, each of which had its respective history of War action. These included such treasures as a B-17 Flying Fortress, survivor of multiple bombing missions over Germany during WWII, a B-25 Mitchell Bomber, a T-6 fighter trainer, and even Hitler’s convertible Mercedes limousine, which was hand-grenaded during a late WWII American raid and later restored. Had he still been among us, Carroll Shelby himself could have told colorful stories about all of the planes and all of the cars present on this auspicious day of tribute.
Classic Shelby Ford GT 350 Mustangs were present in force, including racetrack and street versions, many exhibiting restorations of their original paint schemes (white with two blue longitudinal stripes and 289 cubic-inch Ford V8 power) and others with custom paint but all original Shelby appointments. Most were of 1965 or 1966 vintage, however superb examples of late ‘60s Shelby Mustangs abounded. To top things off, a variety of modern era 2017-2020 Shelby Ford GT-350R and GT-500R examples were impressively presented in their spectacular visual and power-potent splendor. This was a Shelby homage that no one wanted to see come to an end, but passionate enthusiasts and ardent visitors alike would surely agree that the final ten minutes formed an unforgettable memory, when the engines of all Shelby cars present lit-up into a symphony of fantastic Ford V8 thunder. What a sight, what a sound, what a day!
