10 Ford Shelby Collaborations

1. 1964-'65 Cobra Daytona Coupe

During the 60's, Ferrari had cornered the market in regards to performance. The Cobra with its small block V8 did well in American car racing. However, due to its body design, it was very unforgiving to the roads of the European racetracks and suffered some losses against the Ferrari 250 GTO. Shelby took on the aid of Pete Brock, ex-Corvette designer to implement some better aerodynamics. The results were astounding. The Cobra Daytona Coupe competed in the Sebring 12 Hours, where it won the GT class. At the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, it won the GT class and broke Ferrari's streak on GT-class racing in Europe. Only 6 models were ever made and it is considered the greatest Shelby of them all. 

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2. 1962-'65 Cobra 260 and Cobra 289

Developed by AC Cobra and Shelby, (UK and USA, respectively), these two old school Cobra's carried the small block V8's success continuously. This collaboration put both styling and motor components in the right place at the right time. AC focused on the front end modifications along with a stronger rear differential to handle the increase in power, across both engine configurations. This collaboration was a bit of a shaky experience as AC Cobra suffered some financial failure with their Cobra 289 model. Later, Caroll Shelby admitted to falsely creating 43 duplicate titles of the Shelby that were not authentic AC chassis models. 

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3. 1965-'67 Cobra 427

This collaboration involved Ford in Detroit. The chassis benefitted from wider tubes and increased rigidity. The Cobra 427 is a full 7 inches wider than the Cobra 289. The suspension also received full coil spring suspension and double-wishbone-type control arms at each corner as opposed to the older leaf spring style suspension. The "427" cubic inch V8 pushed out a hearty 425 hp. The improved chassis, suspension, and motor allowed it to hit some remarkable numbers for its time. It could accelerate to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds, hit 100 mph in just 8.8 seconds and hit the quarter-mile in 12.2 seconds at 118 mph. 

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4. 1965-'66 Mustang GT350 and GT350H

It was now time for the Mustang to have it's time to shine with the Cobra setting the stage. To compete in the SCCA's B Production class, the back seats were removed. Then Shelby added a close-ratio Borg-Warner four-speed manual transmission, some 11-inch front disc brakes, and a Detroit Locker rear differential. But, it didn't stop there, Shelby also added a Holley carburetor, exhaust headers and an exhaust system that pushed the horsepower up to 306 hp. The Shelby suspension comprised of Koni shocks, stiff antiroll bars and Goodyear Blue Dot tires on 15-inch wheels. He made 562 units during 1965 and during the 1966 model year, he had 1,001 built as "GT350H" Hertz rental cars. 

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5. 1965 Mustang GT350R

Based on the GT 350, this was the racing version created for the SCCA. It featured high-rise aluminum intake manifolds. The front and rear fenders were flared to accept larger Racing wheels, and an oil cooler was added behind the oversize radiator. Lightweight Plexiglas replaced the real glass. The most noticeable modification was a new fiberglass front lower air dam. Only 36 of this Mustang-based machine were created. Expect to see them rarely at auctions commanding $1 Million!

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6. 1966 Cobra Super Snake

Even though the 427 was one of the most outrageous cars created, Caroll Shelby couldn't stop there. He decided to create these with twin Paxton superchargers bolted to their 427s, added hood scoops and replaced the manual transmissions with three-speed automatics. Between 800 and 900 hp, these two Cobras are simply the most outrageous monsters to emerge from Shelby's shop. Shelby kept one of the Super Snakes for himself and sold the other to Bill Cosby. Shelby's own Super Snake was sold at the 2007 Barrett-Jackson auction for $5.5 million. The highest price ever paid for an American car in history.

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7. 1967 Ford Mk IV

The development of the Mk IV was a collaboration between Ford, Kar Kraft and Shelby-American (which raced the cars). Shelby-American's entry had won the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans with Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt, Jr. This is the only time an American racing team won overall victory with an American racing car. The design was based off the new Ford J-car, a prototype for the successor to the Ford GT40.

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8. 1967-'68 GT500 and GT500KR

The GT500 was based on the second-generation Mustang and featured suspension tuned for comfort and the bodywork displayed air scoops, plus taillights inspired by the 1965 Ford Thunderbird. Power came from the Police interceptor V8. Eventually, the big-block V8 was upgraded to the 335 hp Cobra Jet and thus was born the 'KR' model which stood for "King of the Road." 

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9. 1984-'86 Dodge Omni GLH and GLH-S

When Lee Iacocca took over running Chrysler, Shelby joined the allegiance to add his flair to Dodge vehicles. With Shelby's modifications to the small 2.2-liter 4 cylinder, it could compete with the recently introduced Volkswagen GTI. One of the upgrades included a turbocharger, which bumped its 110 hp up to 146 hp further defining the acronym, GLH (Goes Like Hell). The vehicle didn't sell as well as the duo had hoped and the last 500 units sold as GLHS models which featured 175 hp engines. 

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10. 2010-2013 Shelby GT500

This car was considered to best wear the Shelby name with a suspension that was responsive and the supercharged 5.4-liter V8 pushing a whopping 550 hp. It encompasses all the features of previous Shelby cars in a modern package. By 2013, the suspension got further refined and the horsepower climbed to 662 hp. 

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