A year goes by quickly.
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Legendary Car Builder Carroll Shelby Dead At 89
Hannah Elliott, Forbes Staff
5/11/2012 @ 4:12Pm
Trailblazing racer and founder of the famous Mustang line Carroll Shelby has died. He was 89.
The outgoing Texan who created the 427 Cobra died last night at Baylor Hospital in Dallas. No specific cause of death was given, though there has been some interesting speculation. Shelby had been unwell for years, with ongoing heart problems since the 1960s and a heart transplant in 1992.
Edsel Ford II, a member of the Board of Directors of Ford Motor Company and great-grandson of Henry Ford, called Shelby an innovator and performance-vehicle legend who was "an incredible partner and close friend for more than 60 years."
"The Ford and Shelby collaboration is something that has always been very important to me personally, and Carroll will continue to be the inspiration behind our future collaboration that will carry his name," Ford said in a press statement. "My family and I are honored to have had Carroll as a friend and part of our family. He will never be forgotten."
Often seen in a black cowboy hat and sport coat, Shelby was best known for his namebrand Cobras and Mustangs, but he enjoyed a successful racing career in the 1950s before health worries forced him to retire. In his last year of driving, 1959, Shelby won the 24 Hours of LeMans in an Aston Martin.
By 1963, the Texas native and onetime chicken farmer was racing his Cobras on European tracks against Ferrari, Porsche and Jaguar teams. In 1965, he won the Grand Touring World Championship and then won LeMans in a Shelby Ford GT40 in 1966 and 1967.
In later years Shelby founded Carroll Shelby International and Shelby American, a car company which unveiled its 1,000-horsepower Shelby 1000 Mustang at the New York Auto Show last month. He was also the subject of a 2011 sexual harassment lawsuit while at the company. Company representatives did not immediately respond to requests about the status of the suit.
Shelby is survived by his three children, Patrick, Michael and Sharon; his sister, Anne Shelby Ellison of Fort Worth, Texas; six grandchildren, four great grandchildren and his wife, Cleo. Funeral plans have not yet been set.
Source:
Legendary Car Builder Carroll Shelby Dead At 89 - Forbes