New Breed of Mustang

Carroll Shelby is an icon of the automotive world, a man who could drive Allards, Ferraris or Birdcage Maseratis into victory lane. Sports Illustrated named him Sports Car Driver of the Year for both 1956 and 1957, and he won the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1959.

Heart problems forced him into retirement in 1960, but instead of leaving the world of fast cars, Shelby turned to designing them.

The 2007 Shelby GT500 Mustang, true to the muscle-car roots, pays tribute to its namesake's accomplishments.

After the end of his racing career, Shelby created the AC Cobra. His Cobra Daytona Coupe became the fastest car on the planet and won the FIA Manufacturers Grand Touring World Championship in 1965.

In 1964, then Ford Motor Co. president Lee Iacocca turned to Shelby to create performance models of the Mustang. Shelby tweaked the Ford 289 engine and began producing several hundred GT350 Mustangs a month. They became identified with a paint scheme of twin blue stripes over the white hood, roof and rear deck.

Shelby went on to produce a car for Henry Ford II that could win LeMans: the Ford GT40-white body, blue racing stripes. A GT40 won LeMans in 1966 and 1967, the same year he created the first Shelby GT500 by dropping a 428-cubic-inch engine into a Mustang. 

By 1970, Ford had its own line of muscle cars, but rising insurance rates and tightening pollution control put an end to the muscle-car era. Shelby followed Iacocca to a struggling Chrysler, and with his guidance, the Dodge Viper was built, with a monstrous V-10 engine capable of kicking Corvettes into the roadside dirt.

The 2007 Shelby GT500 brings his design full-circle. Like its predecessor muscle cars, this coupe is a killer on the streets. Under its hood is a 5.4-liter (330 cubic-inch) V-8 that pumps out an astonishing 500 horsepower; the company claims it has the most power of any factory-built Mustang ever. It comes only with a six-speed manual transmission, and is available with the iconic blue racing stripes.