Now in Paperback! Revealing the inside story of Carroll Shelby's last quarter century: the legend, the man, and the vehicles he helped develop with the author: Ford GT, Shelby GT500, Shelby Cobra Concept, Shelby GR1, Super Snake, secret projects, and the return of 'Daisy,' the last Shelby Cobra.

Carroll Shelby, legendary driving ace, race team owner, and designer of Shelby Cobra, Daytona, and Mustang GT350 classics is revered by automotive enthusiasts, yet little has been written about the last quarter century of Carroll Shelby’s life. During that time Chris Theodore, VP at Chrysler and Ford, developed a close personal friendship with Carroll. The Last Shelby Cobra chronicles the development of the many vehicles they worked on together (Viper, Ford GT, Shelby Cobra Concept, Shelby GR1, Shelby GT500 and others). It is an insider’s story about how Shelby came back to the Ford family, and the intrigue behind the five-year journey to get a Shelby badge on a Ford Production Vehicle. The author provides fresh insight and new stories into Shelby’s larger-than-life personality, energy, interests and the many unpublished projects Carroll was involved with, up to his passing. Finally, the book describes their unfinished project, the Super Snake II Cobra, and the serendipitous circumstances that allowed to the author to acquire Daisy, the last Shelby Cobra. To his many fans, Carroll Shelby was truly "the most interesting man in the world."

In the new edition of this classic text, Brian Laban brings the story of the AC Cobra up to date. In the early 1960s, a flamboyant Texan, Carroll Shelby, dreamed of a special kind of sports car, a marriage of European style with lusty, affordable American V8 power. He took his dream forward and he persuaded British sports car specialist AC Cars to build his car, and US industry giant the Ford Motor Co to fund it. Its name also came to him in a dream - Cobra. The original production of the Cobra lasted just five years and encompassed barely a thousand cars built within the original framework. But it was only the beginning of a story that is still very much alive, encompassing 'continuations', spin-offs, and a massive worldwide replica industry. Shelby and AC Cobra details the man behind the cars, the story of their development and engineering, racing pedigree and owning and driving these powerful, iconic cars today. Fully illustrated with 250 archive colour photographs.

The definitive record of the twentieth century's preeminent car builder and racer is now available in an updated paperback edition. It was motoring author Rinsey Mills' passion for AC cars and motorsports history that led to his first meeting with Carroll Shelby. His suggestion that they should collaborate in order to create an accurate record of Shelby's life and achievements at first was rebuffed but later taken up with enthusiasm. This authorized biography is the result. Carroll Shelby: The Authorized Biography was a long time in the making, as Mills left no stone unturned in his quest to produce the complete study of Shelby's remarkable life. He carried out extensive research and conducted numerous interviews, fully capturing the narrative of Carroll Shelby within and outside of the automotive racing world: his childhood in Texas, wartime tenure with the Army Air Force, and postwar entrepreneurship; his earliest race wins in 1952 and his legendary 1959 victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans; his monumental release of the first Cobra and the formation of Shelby American in 1962; his historical partnership with Ford that would last for decades; all the way through to Shelby's personal hobbies, travels, and present-day legacy. Fascinating photographs from Shelby's personal collection complete a book whose original hardcover edition was published mere weeks before his passing, making Carroll Shelby: The Authorized Biography a magnificent and lasting tribute to one of the greatest automotive figures of the twentieth century.

The First Three Shelby Cobras, the third book in the acclaimed Exceptional Cars series, tells the story of three remarkable cars, the first AC Cobras created by the legendary Carroll Shelby in 1962 and now favorites of sports-car enthusiasts throughout the world. The prototype CSX2000 has been described as the “most important American car”, although it was built on a British AC Ace chassis with an American Ford V8 engine. It was retained by the Shelby family until 2016, when it sold at auction for a record $13.75 million. CSX2001 was the first production Cobra, and was delivered to American racing driver Ed Hugus. It was later sold to Frenchman Jean-Marie Vincent, who raced in the Tour de France and in numerous European hillclimbs. CSX2002 was the first Cobra to race and nearly won its inaugural outing at Riverside, driven by Bill Krause, until sidelined by a broken rear hub. It did take the first ever Cobra win, with Dave MacDonald at Tucson in March 1963. Its success led to a series of competition wins that made Shelby's Cobras famous and admired across the globe. All three cars are now the pride of car collections in the United States of America. CSX2000 and CSX2002 are part of the Larry Miller Collection, and CSX2001 belongs to California-based motorsport aficionado Bruce Meyer.

In the late 1950s, a young John Morton was transfixed with sports car racing. His dreams of competition eventually led him to enroll, in 1962, in the Shelby School of High Performance Driving. In a bold moment after the last class, Morton asked Carroll Shelby if he might come to work for the newly formed Shelby American. The answer was “Yes, here's a broom.” Thus ended Morton's college career and began his long racing career. Over the next three years, Morton would be a firsthand witness to the evolution of one of the most iconic sports car builders and racing teams of the 1960s. Inside Shelby American is his personal account of a company overflowing with talent, from designer Pete Brock to fabricator extraordinare Phil Remington to drivers like Dan Gurney, Ken Miles, Bob Bondurant, and Phil Hill. The cars were equally captivating: AC Cobra, Mustang GT350, Ford GT, Daytona Coupe. In this book, Morton’s story is intertwined with the memories of other Shelby staffers of the period, revealing through historic photography and an untold perspective the rousing story of America’s most legendary racer and car builder.

Now in Paperback! Carroll Shelby, legendary driving ace, race team owner, and designer of Shelby Cobra, Daytona, and Mustang GT350 classics is revered by automotive enthusiasts, yet little has been written about the last quarter century of Carroll Shelby's life. During that time Chris Theodore, vice president at Chrysler and Ford, developed a close personal friendship with Carroll. The Last Shelby Cobra chronicles the development of the many vehicles they worked on together (Viper, Ford GT, Shelby Cobra Concept, Shelby GR1, Shelby GT500 and others). It is an insider's story about how Shelby came back to the Ford family, and the intrigue behind the five-year journey to get a Shelby badge on a Ford Production Vehicle. The author provides fresh insight and new stories into Shelby's larger-than-life personality, energy, interests and the many unpublished projects Carroll was involved with, up to his passing. Finally, the book describes their unfinished project, the Super Snake II Cobra, and the serendipitous circumstances that allowed to the author to acquire 'Daisy,' the last Shelby Cobra. To his many fans, Carroll Shelby was truly 'the most interesting man in the world.'