Hot on the heels of Jalopnik's "best Shelbys" list, Complex magazine has just published its own list. As with all such lists, it's filled with some obvious and some strange choices as well as weird omissions.
Read it only if...like me...you're inexplicably drawn to these "best of/worst of" lists. Maybe I need to see a shrink...
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Carroll Shelby's 25 Best Cars
By Stirling Matheson | Sep 19, 2012 | 7:57 AM
Carroll Shelby is, without a doubt, the most influential chicken farmer in the automotive industry. We talking about a farm-boy from Texas who decided that he wanted to stick it to the rich, big-shot Europeans in their Ferraris; he certainly did. While the highlight of his racing career was certainly when he piloted an Aston Martin DBR1 to victory in the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Strangely, in the end, the most important thing that happened during this race was when Shelby looked over his shoulder and thought "hey, that AC Bristol looks like a really great little sports car." Later that little British roadster would gain a big-ass American V8 and become one of the greatest sports cars to ever represent the stars and stripes.
That, however, was only the beginning of Shelby's long career of creating the best cars to ever come out of the USA. These are Carroll Shelby's 25 Best Cars.
25. Shelby GLH-S
Year: 1987
Complex Says: We love hot hatches and we love Carroll Shelby. How could we not see the brilliance in Shelby's only hatchback. We love the idea of being able to drive Shelby and take a full load home from Ikea at the same time.
24. Donzi Shelby 22 GT
Year: 2007
Complex Says: Yeah, we know it's not a car; this is the "Rides" channel and you can ride it, and it was too cool to ignore. 69.5 knots (80mph) is damn fast in a boat, and being able to say "Shelby tuned big-block" about your boat is too awesome to pass up.
23. Dodge Shelby Charger
Year: 1985-1987
Complex Says: While the name "Shelby" usually conjures up images of tuned Fords, the company did have a stint with Dodge in the '80s and early '90s. The Charger was fairly cool, but like most vehicles of its era, it could have certainly used some more power. Enter Shelby and a turbocharger and we had a Charger worthy of the nameplate, unlike the modern sedan that somehow stole it.
22. Dodge Daytona Shelby
Year: 1987
Complex Says: Not only is it one of the few '80s cars that has seemed to age well, it's rocking a Shelby tuned turbo system and suspension set-up, and is therefore awesome.
21. Ford Shelby GT500
Year: 2007
Complex Stage: The Shelby Mustang had been gone for a long time when a new one was suddenly dropped on us; damn, was there some rejoicing. We've been blessed with Shelby tuned all-American iconic powerhouses ever since.
20. Shelby CSX-VNT
Year: 1989
Complex Says: The last of the Shelby CSXs was the VNT, of which only 500 were made. Turbo lag was undetectable, power and torque were great, given the era, and the car was light enough to be genuinely quick. The only problem was that the turbo setup was so sophisticated that most mechanics, rather than admitting that they couldn't diagnose a problem when there was one, simple replaced the system with a less impressive, lag prone one. CSX-VNTs with the VNT system intact are very valuable today.
19. Ford Shelby GT500
Year: 2011
Complex Says: The new Shelby Mustang was already a bruiser, but it lacked finesse. When the decidedly archaic pig-iron block was traded out for an Aluminum one in 2011 the car not only lost weight, but also gained much better balance and poise. The Shelby was kicking ass on both the drag strip and the road course now.
18. Shelby Series 1
Year: 1998-2005
Complex Says: The Shelby Series 1 is one of the most underrated cars ever made. It was the only car Shelby ever designed from the ground up, and it was a beautiful work of art. Interestingly, it was also the only Shelby to ever use a GM engine.
17. Shelby Cobra Mk. I
Year: 1962-1963
Complex Says: Shelby's first car is what made everybody take note of his ability as a builder. He had already garnered respect for his vitory at Le Mans, and it was while racing that he got the idea for this car. He appreciated the nimble handling of the AC Bristol roadsters and thought, like any good Texan would have, "I should put a big-ass Ford V8 in that."
Thus, a legend was born.
16. Willment/Ghia Coupe
Year: 1965
Complex Says: The Daytona wasn't the only race-ready Cobra with a roof; there was also this beauty, the Willment/Ghia Coupe. Think of it as an Italian take on the Daytona Coupe. If it reminds you of the Volvo P1800 or the VW Karmann-Ghia, it's because some of the same people were responsible for the bodywork of all three.
15. Shelby Cobra Mk. II
Year: 1963-1965
Complex Says: A car is only at the top of the heap for a year or two in the auto industry, and that's why manufacturers are always updating their wares. Of course, Shelby is no exception, and after only a short while, the already very successful Cobra was getting a major suspension overhaul and rack and pinion steering.
14. Shelby GT 350-H
Year: 1966
Complex Says: This is, without a doubt, the coolest rental car of all time. Yes, you read that properly: rental car. The "H" suffix stands for "Hertz." Hertz has since carried on the tradition of offering awesome cars like Corvettes and Shelby Mustangs, and we love them for it.
13. Ford GT
Year: 2003-2006
Complex Says: We all loved the Ford GT40, but sadly, it was not and was never intended to be a road car. It seems that Ford loves us, so the great racer was repurposed and made into a limited production road car. Like for it's predecessor, Carroll Shelby was brought in to help tune the supercar.
12. Shelby GT 500
Year: 1967
Complex Says: What was the only thing that could improve the Shelby GT 350? An even bigger, more manic engine. 7.0L engines pretty much don't exist anymore, and that makes the GT500 even cooler. The only question is: convertible or fastback?
11. Dragonsnake Cobra
Year: 1963
Complex Says: Yes, we know that the name sounds like the most terrifying penis in the world. Put that out of your mind as you take in the glory of this purpose built drag-racer that could pull a 5.5 second 0-60 in an era where Ferraris too around eight seconds to reach the same speed.
10. Ford Shelby GT500
Year: 2013
Complex Says: Yeah, we knew that the Shelby would get all the same sweet updates that the rest of the 2013 Mustangs would. What we didn't know was that it was also going to boast 650hp, making it the most powerful production V8 in the world.
9. Dodge Viper
Year: 1992-1998
Complex Says: You no doubt already knew that the Dodge Viper is the very definition of "bat-**** nuts," but did you know that Carroll Shelby consulted during the design process? Did you know that it was partially styled after the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe?
8. Ford Mustang GT350
Year: 1965-1966
Complex Says: Adding the magic of Carroll Shelby to the already beloved Mustang was one of the greatest moves in automotive history. Not only was the GT350 objectively brilliant, it is the progenitor of some of the most lusted after cars of the last 47 years.
7. Shelby Cobra GT 500-KR
Year: 1968
Complex Says: The Shelby GT 500 was designed to put Ford's biggest engine into the Mustang. The problem was that only a few short months later, the absurdly powerful Cobra Jet engine was unveiled. Naturally, Shelby had to have it, so "KR" which stood for "King of the Road" was added as a suffix along with the new 7.0L V8.
6. Shelby Cobra Mk. III
Year: 1965-1967
Complex Says: The Cobra was already awesome, but the upgrade from a large 4.7L V8 to a spectacularly massive 7.0L V8 for the Mk. III Cobra. It's sad but engines like that pretty much have gone the way of the dodo, especially in tiny cars like the Cobra.
5. Shelby 1000
Year: 2012
Complex Says: 950 horsepower in a Mustang is insane, even if the name of the bloody thing makes you wonder "what happened to the other 50?" Carroll Shelby said that is was a car he wad wanted to build before he was too old to drive it just a few months before he died. We're very happy that he got to play with this dream toy of his.
4. Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe
Year: 1964-1965
Complex Says: The Cobra was already a great race car, but it wasn't enough to take on Ferrari in the GT class. To do this, Shelby created the now legendary Daytona Coupe, which went on to be the first American car to win the constructor's championship at the FIA World Sportscar Championship.
By the way, it also set 23 land speed records at the Bonneville salt flats.
3. Shelby GT 350R
Year: 1965
Complex Says: This was the first time an American auto manufacturer offered a track only model for use in competition. The GT 350R has an excellent history within the SCCA as well. It's the awesome and logical extreme to which the Shelby GT 350 had to be taken.
2. Ford GT40
Year: 1964-1969
Complex Says: The GT40 is one of our favorite cars of all time. It was created to be Henry Ford II's instrument of vengeance against Enzo Ferrari after a purchase deal went sour and it didn't just take the top spot at Le Mans from Ferrari, but it seared it self into the collective memory of automotive enthusiasts the world over. Like most awesome Fords, it of course bore the touch of Mr. Shelby.
1. Shelby Cobra SuperSnake
Year: 1966
Complex Says: The SuperSnake was designed to be "the cobra to end all cobras," and it succeeded in both being this, and scaring the everliving crap out of Bill Cosby (see the video below). Shelby only ever made two of these; one for himself and one for Cosby. Cosby drove it once and returned it, and it eventually ended up in the hands of a Tony Maxey, who accidentally drove it off a cliff and into the ocean. This is the kind of car that is greater than all but the most talented and well trained drivers.
Source:
Complex magazine
Complex magazine picks 25 best Shelbys
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