Carroll Shelby's Racers

Seeing Red
In 1965 Shelby found himself with no opposition, as Ferrari withdrew factory support from the now outdated GTOs. The Cobras romped to victory!


Although the Cobra 427 was the fastest production car in the world when it came out in 1965, it had a relatively short racing career. The first 427 prototype was a 289 Cobra stuffed with a NASCAR 427. At Sebring in 1964, its handling was so deadly the drivers were happy when it finally broke. Cobra driver and development expert Ken Miles also built an ultra-light Cobra with an experimental aluminum 390-inch Ford engine. He ran it once at Nassau in 1964, where it pulled out an impressive lead until it broke.


It was obvious that a stronger and more sophisticated chassis was needed to cope with the heavier, more muscular 427 engine. The original Cobra leaf-spring independent suspension was replaced with coil-overs and double A-arms all around. Interestingly enough, this was the first chassis designed on a computer by Klaus Arning and Bob Negsted.

Striped Horse
Shelby intended to build 100 racing versions of the 427 with hotter 485-hp engines, race suspension and brakes and wide racing wheels. Few were sold however, so most were remade into the now-priceless 427 S/C (street/competition) models. The Shelby team only raced one Cobra 427, and then only three times with no success. Private owners won SCCA A-Production championships from 1965 to 1969, and again in 1973.


Shelby got into the serious car business in 1965 with the introduction of the GT-350, a highly modified Mustang. In 1965 there were also 37 GT-350R race versions built, with hotter Cobra 289 engines and numerous suspension and bodywork modifications. These competed against the small-block Corvettes in amateur road racing, winning many championships. The factory even raced a couple of them with success, but the emphasis was on selling them to privateer teams.