Shelby American manufactures and markets performance vehicles and related products. The company builds authentic continuation Cobras, including the 427 S/C, 289 FIA and 289 street car component vehicles. Shelby American offers the Shelby 1000; GT350, GT500 Super Snake, and GTS post-title packages for the current generation Ford Mustangs. Shelby American is a wholly owned subsidiary of Carroll Shelby International Inc., (CSBI.PK)

Shelby American
6755 Speedway Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV 89115

Tel: 702.942.7325

 

Shelby American Inc.

Carroll Shelby established Shelby American Inc. in 1962 to manufacture and market performance vehicles, as well as Carroll Shelby Licensing in 1988 which grew into Carroll Shelby International. The company was based at Santa Fe Springs, California (1962), Venice, California (1962–1967), Ionia, Michigan (1967–1968), Whittier, California (1986–1998) and Shelby American moved in 1998 to Las Vegas, Nevada becoming the first automobile manufacturer in Nevada and began production. Ford provided financial support for AC’s Cobras from 1962 through 1965 and provided financial support for the Ford GTs, first with John Wyer’s Ford Advanced Vehicles in 1963 and then with Shelby American from 1964 through 1967.

In 1999, During production of the Shelby Series 1, Venture Corporation purchased Shelby American, Inc. The purchase included the Series 1 model, but not the rights to produce the “Continuation Series” Shelby Cobras.

In 2003, a new holding company was formed called “Carroll Shelby International, Inc.”, and it was taken public. Shelby Automobiles was also created as a subsidiary and manufacturing arm of the new company. In that same year, Ford Motor Co. and Carroll Shelby mended ties and he became technical advisor to the Ford GT project.

In 2004, after a subsequent bankruptcy by Venture Corporation (unrelated to the acquisition of Shelby American), Carroll Shelby’s new company, Shelby Automobiles, Inc.., purchased the Series 1 assets for pennies on the dollar. Included in the asset purchase were enough components to produce several more complete Series 1’s. Because the 1999 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards certificate had expired, and the cost to re-certify the car was prohibitive, all Series 1’s produced after that date were completed as “component cars” and delivered with no engine or transmission.

On December 15, 2009, Carroll Shelby International announced in a press release that Shelby Automobiles was being renamed to “Shelby American” in celebration of the 45th anniversary.

Carroll Shelby In Racing

Shelby initially raced a friend’s MG TC and Cad-Allards. He later recalled that the combination of the small English Allard and American V-8 power inspired his creation of the AC Cobra. His great success racing the Allards led to invitations to drive for the Aston Martin and Maserati factory teams in the mid-to-late 1950s racing an Aston Martin DBR1/300 at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1958. Driving for Donald Healey in a modified and supercharged Austin-Healey 100S, he set 16 U.S. and international speed records at the Bonneville salt flats. He drove in the Mount Washington Hillclimb Auto Race in a specially prepared Ferrari 375 GP roadster, to a record run of 10:21.8 seconds on his way to victory in 1956. He was Sports Illustrated’s driver of the year in 1956 and 1957. He competed in Formula One from 1958 to 1959, participating in a total of eight World Championship races and several non-championship races. The highlight of his race driving career came in 1959, when he co-drove an Aston Martin DBR1 (with Englishman Roy Salvadori) to victory in the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. During this race he noted the performance of an English GT car built by AC Cars, known as the Ace. Three years later, the AC Ace would become the basis for the AC Cobra. Carroll Shelby retiring from driving in October 1959

Shelby Cobra

In the intervening years, Shelby had a series of ventures start and stop relating to production of “completion” Cobras — cars that were allegedly built using “left over” parts and frames. In the 1960s, the FIA required entrants (Shelby, Ford, Ferrari, etc.) to produce at least 100 cars for homologated classes of racing. Shelby simply ordered an insufficient number of cars and skipped a large block of Vehicle Identification Numbers, to create the illusion the company had imported large numbers of cars. Decades later in the 1990s, Carroll alleged that he had found the “left over” frames, and began selling cars which were supposedly finally “completed”. After it was discovered the cars were built from scratch in collaboration with McCluskey, Ltd., they were re-termed “continuation” Cobras. The cars are still built to this day, known as the current CSX4000 series of Cobras.

Shelby Companies

Carroll Shelby International
Carroll Shelby International, Inc. (CSBI.PK) is comprised of two wholly owned subsidiaries, Shelby American, Inc., Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc., called the Shelby Companies. Shelby American is engaged in the manufacturing and marketing of performance vehicles and related accessories. Shelby American currently offers authentic continuation Cobras, including the Cobra 427 S/C, the Cobra 289 FIA and the Cobra 289 S/C,; these are sold as component vehicles (i.e. without engines or drive trains); Shelby Cobras are offered through a proprietary network of dealers in North America and Europe. In addition, Shelby American has produced a number of limited edition pre and post title new model year cars based on the Ford Mustangs through its cooperative relationship with Ford Motor Company, which is also a licensee of Carroll Shelby Licensing, Inc. for purposes of selling pre-title Shelby branded vehicles, including the Shelby GT500 and GT350. Shelby American is currently focused on the production of post-title vehicles and aftermarket parts, the former including the Shelby Super Snake, Shelby GT and Shelby GTS. Shelby American also sells aftermarket styling and performance parts under the Shelby Performance Parts brand name.

Carroll Shelby Licensing is responsible for licensing the Shelby brand to third parties in connection with various products, including vehicles, memorabilia, video games, models, toys, branded apparel, styling and performance parts. From Ford Motor Company to Electronic Arts and Baume et Mercier, the Shelby name has become a globally recognized and admired brand.

Shelby American, Inc.
Shelby American, a division of Carroll Shelby International, Inc. (CSBI.PK), is the premier independent performance car company in the United States. Committed to delivering cars and products that provide an unparalleled driving experience, the company has been at the forefront of automotive innovation since it was established in 1962.

The company was founded by Carroll Shelby, one of America’s greatest race car drivers. He dominated sports car racing success in the mid-1950s, twice being named Sports Illustrated’s “Driver of the Year.” His crowning achievement as a driver came in 1959, when he won the 24 Hours of LeMans.

With changes in government regulations looming and skyrocketing fuel costs, Shelby American ceased building production cars in the late 1960s; the company evolved into a performance hot spot that consulted special projects for automakers. This included the development of several key vehicles for Chrysler that helped restore the struggling carmaker’s image. Among those legendary vehicles was the Dodge Viper, which sparked a new super car competition among auto manufacturers in the United States. Shelby even drove the new Viper as the pace car during the 1996 Indianapolis 500.

In 1996, Shelby American, which was named Shelby Automobiles for a few years, opened a manufacturing facility at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. From this new state-of-the-art facility, the company began to build continuation Cobra 427 S/C, Cobra 289 FIA and street Cobra component vehicles. While still true to their heritage, these genuine Cobras incorporate subtle updates to make it even more enjoyable to own than those built in the 1960s.

Ford Motor Company asked Carroll Shelby and his team to consult on the Ford GT in 2004. Two years later, Shelby and Ford formed a new relationship to once again build high performance vehicles. That program accelerated in 2005 when Carroll help reenergize the company with a new series of high performance vehicles built in cooperation with Ford Motor Company. Working with the Ford Racing, Ford SVT and the Ford new car branding team, the relationship resulted in a string of cars that returned Shelby vehicles to the top of enthusiast wish lists worldwide.

Forty years after their pioneering effort in 1966, Shelby, Ford Motor Company and The Hertz Corporation once again joined forces to build the ultimate weekend getaway vehicle, the Shelby GT-H (H for “Hertz”). Based on the Ford Mustang, the Shelby GT-H was instantly recognizable with its deep black exterior set off with gold Le Mans racing stripes. This steed was fitted with a custom Shelby Performance hood with pins and a brushed aluminum grille with running horse emblem. And with the help of Ford Racing and a 325HP 4.6-liter 3V V-8 engine, this machine was pure American muscle.

A total of 500 coupes were built for rental through select Hertz locations in the United States during 2006 and 2007. The next year, an agreement was announced to build 500 convertible Shelby GT-H rental cars.

The strong demand of the GT-H, from over 3,000 dealers and thousands of enthusiasts nationwide, led to the birth of the Shelby GT. Powered by Shelby and Ford Racing Performance Parts, the Ford Shelby GT boasted out-of-this-world handling, stick-to-the ground cornering and dust-the-competition acceleration. The pony car was equally at home on the track, a daily commute or out on the town. Each limited edition convertible and coupe has a serial number that is recorded in an official Shelby factory registry. Unlike the GT-H, both manual and automatic transmissions were available in the Shelby GT.

In the 1960s, Shelby offered a myriad of parts to step up the prowess of their Mustang. Four decades later, Shelby and Ford Racing teamed up again to give Shelby GT500 and Mustang GT owners the opportunity to customize their muscle cars.

These programs include the Shelby Super Snake, Shelby GT and Shelby 1000 packages. Owners arrange for their car to be drop shipped by the Shelby Las Vegas facility for conversion or a customer can arrange to have a properly specified car transported to the factory. In the 1960s, Shelby offered a myriad of parts to step up the prowess of their Mustang. In addition to the Mustang based Shelby vehicles, Shelby American has a program to enhance the 2011-14 Ford Raptor.

In 2007, Shelby created a company to give SN197 owners the opportunity to enhance their vehicles with new high performance and styling parts. Shelby Performance Parts offers a full complement of parts developed through key partners and their own R&D program for the Ford Mustang, Shelby GT and Shelby GT500.

For those with vehicles far from Las Vegas, Shelby has established a series of mod shops. Staffed with trained Shelby technicians using specially engineered and Shelby approved parts, these locations give enthusiasts the ultimate factory makeover with unrivaled parts and performance options from Shelby-authorized professionals. These locations, as well as ones internationally give customers the opportunity to have a Shelby package installed on their car and purchase genuine Shelby Performance Parts locally.

CARROLL SHELBY LICENSING

Founded in 1988,  Automotive manufacturer and entrepreneur Carroll Shelby was one of the most famous and successful high performance visionaries in the world. His arrival on the race scene, first as a driver and then as a manufacturer of high-performance vehicles for both track and street, quickly redefined performance.

Shelby was also a pioneer for modern automotive licensing programs; beginning in the 1960s, he began licensing his name and designs for various products. His influence was so considerable that even competitors often wore clothing featuring Shelby trademarks. The brand united a wide range of enthusiasts who held Shelby in undeniable admiration and esteem.

He founded Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc. in 1988, which is the exclusive holder of trademarks and vehicle design rights for some of the most recognized muscle cars and high-performance vehicles produced. Today, Carroll Shelby Licensing product lines include cars, car parts, component vehicles, aftermarket styling and performance parts, toys and hobby products, collectibles and memorabilia, computer and electronic games, graphics and art, film and entertainment properties, branded apparel and accessories.

CSL has over 150 licensees throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia and a staff dedicated to cultivating additional licensing partners and programs that continue to reach new heights in supporting the timeless brand they represent.

CARROLL SHELBY FOUNDATION

The Carroll Shelby Foundation is dedicated to providing financial support for children and medical professionals to help overcome life-threatening health issues worldwide and promoting continuing educational development. Legendary racer and automotive manufacturer Carroll Shelby, following years of heart-related difficulties, which culminated in a successful heart transplant, created the Carroll Shelby Children’s Foundation in October 1991. The organization is dedicated to providing assistance for acute coronary and kidney care for young people who share many of the same afflictions. 2009 the Foundation took another beat and expanded its reach and became the Carroll Shelby Foundation helping kids from their first heartbeat through their education years.

To date the Carroll Shelby Foundation has helped numerous youngsters undergo major coronary surgeries and help charities and children worldwide raise money for their own fundraising campaigns and provided seed monies to launch healthcare programs and facilities, the Foundation also provides grants to organizations conducting research in the fields of coronary and organ transplant management. The Foundation, expanding its reach, will provide scholarship money to kids dedicated to enhancing their lives through continuing educational opportunities in the automotive field.

Shelby, who waited years before receiving his own heart transplant, was keenly aware of the difficulties and expense involved in heart surgery and the often-lengthy process to locate a suitable donor organ. He created the Foundation because he realized that many needy children would have their lives cut short without some type of financial assistance.

The Carroll Shelby Foundation is a 501 (c) 3 and funding comes from a myriad of programs conducted throughout the year. These programs include, generous donations given in exchange for Carroll’s autographs, generous donations from corporate and private sponsors, Ford Motor Company and through his personal appearance fees. In addition, Team Shelby, the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC), the Shelby Mustang clubs and the Shelby Dodge clubs all include the Foundation as an active participant and beneficiary of their national and regional convention event proceeds.