Caroll Shelby’s Biggest Failure Or Greatest Hit? - The 1999 Shelby Series 1

In this Rare Cars documentary, we go deep into one of the most underappreciated sports cars in American history, the 1999-2005 Shelby Series 1 Roadster. This car was Caroll Shelby;s first bespoke car that he ever built 100% from the ground up, it is also the ONLY car that he ever did this with.
The Shelby Series 1 was light, fantastic to look at, and packed a very unique V8 power plant. But with just 249 cars made it is a very car, and there were actually supposed to be way more of these made. So what happened that caused the Shelby Series 1’s to fade away into obscurity?
Stay tuned to the end to find out all there is to know about this Shelby Series 1.
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*Note, we are not historians. If you see an error in our research then please mention it in the comments! For business inquiries or other inquiries, reach out to: [e-mail]

[@jimmymccormick142]

Carroll Shelby built and run the best cars ever produced in America God bless you and God rest your soul we miss you forever and thank you for the great automobiles you made and raced you were one of the greatest of the greatest pioneers

[@chrisdooley1184]

I don’t know about all that but he certainly was an innovative and special man who made innumerable contributions to the automotive world both before and after his death. RIP

[@rarecars3336]

A true automotive icon

[@diamondjoltva]

Tuned them. AC built the original Cobras

[@jamesspalten5977]

​@@diamondjoltvaThe body was basically the only thing that remained untouched from the AC cars...

[@grahambell4298]

@@jamesspalten5977 Well contrary to what seems to be popular American belief, AC did all the initial re-engineering work on the Ace to fit the V8 and turn it into a Cobra, though admittedly it was Shelby American who then developed the Cobra into a race winner.

[@timconklin2164]

How many cool cars we could've seen from GM if they weren't afraid of hurting the sales of the Corvette

[@rarecars3336]

Way too many to count :/

[@earlrichardson385]

If GM wasn’t afraid of hurting Corvette sales Pontiac would still be around.

[@timconklin2164]

@@earlrichardson385 What does that even mean?

[@earlrichardson385]

@@timconklin2164 Edited it. Shouldn’t have been typing while driving. My point was Pontiac was always coming up with really cool stuff and Chevy cried about it. For example the 89 Indy Pace Car Trans Am.

[@RobertWilliams-ox4hz]

The Fiero would have been way cooler

[@siegessaule]

They knew they could get away with that interior because they were competing with the Corvette. You can have your American V8 sports car but it will have HVAC controls from a Cavalier and a radio from a minivan!

[@rtflone]

@siegessaule The company isn't called General Motors for no reason. They're in the business of mass producing cars and that's how you do it. We know GM has the engineering and design talent to build a better Ferrari than Ferrari but the bean counters won't allow it..

[@Stinger430]

I always thought the Series 1 was based off of a C5 Corvette. After all these years I've been corrected. Awesome video. Thanks!

[@fabssgarage]

Though exactly the same thing untill I watched this!

[@ultimateformulations]

I remember when this was coming out. I was a teen in hs reading car magazines in the school library. I was hyped for it. But, then, nothing. Never heard about it much after initial build up. Always wondered what the story was. Great vid! Very informative and well done! Edit: you know, the older I get, the more I think that financial success/sales numbers are just one aspect of "success" when it comes to cars. Some of my absolute favorites are little known "failures." But, I'm so glad they were made!

[@rarecars3336]

Agreed lots of the cars that we cover on here are total financial failures but they are so cool they have to be talked about!

[@saulespino2510]

Shelby's quality control issues was a symptom of them cutting corners. Could of been a great car. It had all the potential to be and with a legendary name behind it.

[@rtflone]

With an interior that looked like a 1996 Oldsmobile didn't help its case imo.

[@redbarchetta8782]

I have a friend who's dad has one of those Series 1 in his collection. He is a huge Shelby fan. Looks very much like that one.

[@rarecars3336]

That’s awesome! I’ve never seen one in person but I’m really looking forward too!

[@justaddafan]

The car had "a really solid chassis" aside from all the warping and cracking.

[@epicseadragon1692]

I've discovered your channel a few weeks ago and catching up on your older content. I remember being blown away when I discovered, back in the early 2000s, this car mentioned in the automobile magazine my dad was subscribed to. It's been another dream cars of mine ever since (I have a few tbh 😅) and I think the 4.0L North Star was a great pairing for a lightweight roadster! It's really unfortunate that all those mishaps impaired the production of this car...

[@darren6951]

I owned an Aurora for a very short time. Bought it for around 1200 and sold it for 2400. It was a nice car for the time, but that "Aurora" V8 was just a northstar in Oldsmobile clothing.

[@ShoneDaddy]

I remember seeing this car all over DuPont registry as a kid. Always found it super cool.

[@rarecars3336]

I agree, I don't think it gets the recognition it really deserves

[@samsonCoby]

Same! While I was in the middle school years(2000 to 2001. New Orleans. 6th to 7th grade)!

[@olikat8]

If you want to see how Shelby was, watch Stapleton 42 and his interview with Lee Holman from about 6 months ago. Then, read how Shelby treated Peter Brock as the GT40 program took priority over the Daytona coupe (which was the 1st to win at LeMans) and Shelby hearing about Brock working on an SCCA team deal with Toyota circa 1970. Then stealing that deal from under Brock...and what an embarrassing failure that was for Toyota. Brock went to Nissan and mopped the floor in SCCA racing. Shelby was a politician & salesman. Not a builder, manager, or such. He accomplished many things, but had massive flaws like many of us.

[@briankearn6991]

Alan Mann Racing in England had much the same opinion of Shelby. They had developed the Mustang for the Monte Carlo Rally and Shelby asked to show it to Ford in Detroit. The GT 350 was the result, no credit given to Alan Mann. You can find pictures of the car on their website that predate any involvement with Shelby and the Mustang.

[@manoahvanderwolf3259]

The Series 1 had a few certain flaws. First, the wheelbase was just a too short, and the track was too narrow. second, it's looks were just a bit wrong. it looked more like a 'callaway' corvette bodykit, instead of a completed look. It looked a lot like things were 'slapped' on and unrefined, almost like aftermarket bodykits. The interior had that same 'vibe'. A shame because the car itself did not look bad at all, but proportions were just off. What really killed it was the Viper. The Viper really looked and behaved like a proper Cobra replacement, and it looked balanced. And, where the Viper got a beast V10, the Shelby S1's engine was just completely underwhelming.

[@2bfrank657]

Good point. The Series 1 looks pretty sweet, until you compare it to a second gen Viper.

[@ML-dl1cp]

The design hasn't aged well, especially that "smaller lights in a cover over a large light opening" thing that was part of every 80s kit car.

[@samsonCoby]

I was in mid school around 6th and 7th Grade(in New Orleans. 1999 to 2001). Which i saw some of these in thr DuPont Registery books i collected due to me being a vehicle Fanatic

[@ekscalybur]

The huge amounts of empty space in the wheel wells have always hurt this cars looks badly.

[@gordonmills2748]

I was at a dealership in Phoenix buying a car, and they had a Shelby Series 1 in the showroom. Holy crap it was a beautiful thing. And yeah, the interior had some budget GM bits and bobs, but that aside, it was awesome. A lot to drink in while I waited for the deal on my car to go through.

[@will4688]

I learned a lot. Thank you.

[@rarecars3336]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@ciaranburke3243]

Very cool car, pity it didn't work properly, rip carol shelby 😔

[@markjones2971]

This car still looks so good even today. This checks all the boxes - limited production car, only ground up Shelby ever produced, and its a SHELBY. This car will only appreciate over time.

[@rarecars3336]

I tend to agree i think even with all its flaws these cars are for sure collectible

[@jeffr4110]

In 1998 I worked 3 buildings away from Shelby when it was located in Las Vegas speedway complex let's just say we had lunch every day with employees of Shelby & boy did they talk thst car had problems WAY larger than whst was discussed here, some of my favorite ones were when they could not pay there bills so suppliers cut them off thus having to send employees to home depot for bolts to put cars together another good one you have to cut a hole in the rear deck to replace the electric file pump that coincidently comes from a Chevy Tahoe thst was prone to failure another problem they had was absolutly every car built needed the paint stripped off glue the body back together then block sand it for days & repaint the kicker was it could not be done in house so a local custom car painter in the speedway complex was tasked with the job one of his contract conditions repairing all these cars was under no circumstances allow anybody to see any of the cars at any time so to comply with that request he leased another building to hide them when a car was finished making room for another car you had to move them from building to the other under complete darkness meaning every night 1 or so cars were swapped for the next POS to be repaired Needless to say Shelby was the joke of the entire speedway complex

[@gsxerwhite]

I think I remember seeing this as a pace car for a NASCAR race back then. My Dad and I loved it.

[@rarecars3336]

I love it to, I really think these cars look amazing

[@TheCUTTERbyPHOENIX]

You also feel it through that video don't you ? This car reeks of Viper DNA ! you squint your eyes long enough and everything will remind you of the RT/10

[@gsmith207]

Danny aka the Kount in Vegas has the only black one made. thats awesome. great vid!

[@rarecars3336]

Glad you liked it, and thanks for sharing that. I used to watch his show on History channel all the time!

[@francorepici3586]

Most beautiful car, hands down, that i have ever seen

[@rarecars3336]

I think it is also a VERY good looking car!

[@donaldcolbert8317]

I was stationed in Vegas and saw one of these back in the day (would have been 1999-2001) not long after I first read about it in a magazine. It was parked at a home depot of all places. I squatted down because I wanted to see what the silhouette looked like. When I squatted down I saw a puddle of transmission fluid.

[@rarecars3336]

LOL that is unfortunate

[@JsliceQB1026]

This car this is the car that drove me to purchase an 1997 Oldsmobile Aurora and become fascinated with its exhaust sound once I cut off the mufflers. The real dream of course is to buy one of these cars

[@gregmorris2022]

I remember driving this in Gran Turismo 4

[@rarecars3336]

SO DO I!

[@airgunningyup]

the way the fenders didnt sit right made it kit car looking

[@tollefreyerson6710]

I knew there were some problems with the series 1 but dang I didn’t know the whole story!! Truly insane!

[@rarecars3336]

Yeah really pretty much everything went wrong LOL

[@juanc5149]

Oldsmobile should of just used the lt1-ls1 to power the Aurora. Depending on year made. Car would been way more popular.

[@lqr824]

nah, the buyers liked a high-revving smaller V8 like they'd have in BMW etc. They didn't want a lower-revving pushrod engine. I've owned a 90s Supra, several M5s, a little Ferrari, R35 etc., but if I was buying a US sedan the Aurora seemed pretty interesting. I actually thought of parking one next to my Supra in the mid-90s.

[@fuse8052]

I see a lot of parts bin interior parts and I love it! So many people gripe at parts bin interior parts. You CAN'T make EVERY part bespoke. You have to build the dash and the parts. Why not build the dash around parts that already exist? I get it. Makes sense to me.

[@rarecars3336]

It does it makes sense to do it to save on costs, I can see why people wouldn't like it but I totally agree on the practicality of it

[@donaldfedosiuk1638]

I actually saw one of these on the floor of an Olds dealer just outside Boston. How and why it got there and what became of it, I haven't the slightest idea.

[@BastardX13]

An excellent summary of how the Shelby Series One, was a perfect failure. Too much innovation, and an unproven, though interesting, 4.0 Litre Dohc Oldsmobile v8. Needed more Shelby infuence, less Gm, more motor. Great looking Car

[@rarecars3336]

Glad you enjoyed it! I agree it had so much potential and it fell so short because of stuff that was totally avoidable

[@realitycheck7340]

Shelby influence?? Carroll Shelby built it so not sure how it could be influenced more than it was. Maybe (25 years later) everyone has better foresight but I look at the performance cars from the era (GNX, Viper, Corvette) which today are great cars with collectability & value but seems to have the same issues relating to interior design and parts. I wonder how many here back in 1999 thru 2006 had the ability to actually own or afford one of these. I did not but loved the Vipers and Series 1 at first sight. Today I own Vipers and Series 1's along with others. I am also old enough to remember all the negative Nellie's talk the same when it came to the AC Cobras. Boy if I only had 3 to 4k extra back in the 80's and then I could bash all other Shelbys to make me feel better and smarter.

[@Minnevan]

I guess you could say the Series One was….. Seriously Wonderful

[@joshup1275]

I remember when I first saw that car loved it then love it now

[@rarecars3336]

I agree i think its a looker

[@charleshulsey3103]

I always thought of this as Oldsmobile's last hoorah

[@rarecars3336]

I would say it was the coolest thing Oldsmobile had their hand in since the old 442s

[@paulrobinson3649]

Maybe try to make sense of the TVR Trident / Trident Clipper story in another failed sports car episode? Bankruptcy, guns and lawyers. Nice.

[@cammer68oliver2]

Mannn! Imagine if he had dropped the then new LS motors into that thing! Ooooweeee! That thing woulda been WAYYY HOTTER! Too bad he didn’t use a pushrod ford motor in that thing just like the good old days. How it should’ve been

[@rarecars3336]

The new ford VooDoo motor in here would have been crazy

[@rebelscum9783]

I think this is a great looking car!!

[@ryanupchurch9683]

Missed a big big thing. The motor. More specifically the heads. It was originally supposed to the Indy car heads ( Oldsmobile aurora Indy motors won something like 70 % of the the Indy races it entered) instead they got the production aurora heads (an awesome car. Had one) So imagine this car with a 500 hp n/a motor turning 9k rpm. Would of been a game changer. Also missed that the series one had massive over heating problems. I don’t care i still love them and would love to have one. And put the Indy engine in it. You could buy one for like 10 grand a decade ago( the used Indy engine)

[@Fred_NaughT]

I owned 2 auroras and absolutely loved my 96 autobahn edition ! That 4.0 sounded and ran alot better than the 4.6 Northstar and the 4.6 ford. Man I miss my Auroras !

[@netgnostic1627]

If they had fixed their quality problems first, and made the supercharged engine the ONLY engine, this car could have been great. The looks though? I don't love it from any angle. Maybe they could have styled it more like the Daytona Coupe ...

[@bushido8077]

This series 1 looks similar to the viper

[@hailstorm1986]

I'm still very surprised that during this time Shelby didn't try to get back in touch with Ford because they had just released their modular 4.6 V8 which would have been perfect for this car and a much more potent power plant than the Oldsmobile Aurora engine but I do remember seeing later on that these cars were being fitted with Ford v8s so it did eventually happen regardless..

[@Fred_NaughT]

Carroll said the oldsmobile 4.0 was the ONLY engine at the time that was worth using. He hated the 4.6 Ford engine and said it was very weak. I've personally owned 2 auroras (96 and 03 ) a 97 thunderbird with 4.6 and an 02 Cadillac SLS with 4.6 Northstar and the 96 aurora definitely felt the strongest of them all.

[@chrismaines1285]

Gorgeous car

[@rarecars3336]

Agreed!

[@TheBadBunny87]

Completely forgot about this car. Remember it from Gran Turismo 2

[@diysecuritygear9594]

No offense to Shelby. He was an icon. He was rolled out by family at the point of series one. Oh! We have a name and a brand!

[@ashtonmasters9831]

That had the potential to be a generation changing vehicle.

[@francorepici3586]

Better looking than any Ferrari or any other super cars ever made

[@thebionicbassplayer]

I'm not feeling the styling for some reason. They had a pretty cool choice for the engine. I had an Olds Alero and felt Shelbys pain when GM canceled the brand.

[@BornToBeFamed]

All it needed was a ls1 or a supercharged 4.6 at that time would’ve been perfect

[@rarecars3336]

Agreed - way better engine choices!

[@BornToBeFamed]

@@rarecars3336 but I must admit that Oldsmobile sounds good!!

[@culcune]

Quick suggestion for a very rare US made (actual manufactured) car--Panoz.

[@rarecars3336]

I will do a video on them as well!

[@realitycheck7340]

Panozs are great but I am not sure as this moment but do not believe it was a production vehicle with proper vin numbers?

[@culcune]

@@realitycheck7340 I am fairly certain they used to be. I know they are not anymore.

[@JohnnyAFG81]

GM had the all the ingredients to lay a haymaker to the German sport sedans except one, the balls.

[@JonathanLittle001]

In some ways this was the predecessor to the Cadillac XLR

[@devonmask5192]

Everyone knew this venture was never going to work. Shelby was a gifted coordinator, matching eager talent with affordable production product...in small, temporary doses. In that respect he had a leg up on someone like Jerry Weigert (of Vector infamy) but less of a chance than DeLorean/Chapman. But the problem was 'Ol Shel had the same (ahem) fluid ethics as those other failed niche sports car producers, and NO major automaker was going to cut him a special deal making a more expensive but barely more capable Corvette when they KNEW they were going to eventually get hosed by him. They'd all had their fill of him by the late 90's The Good Shel: Cobra rep, and race ability. An icon. The (original) GT350, giving the Mustang the halo car they didn't build into its initial lineup. Coordinating the talent for the GT40 program. Some input on the Viper that made a machine that could top the bad-ass image of the Vette if not the usability. The Bad Shel: Name only sticker and stripes 'performance cars' that he had less hand in than Givenchy did making over dressed Lincolns. Screwing over Pete Brock, the guy that made the aerodynamic-as-a-brick Cobra competitive on larger tracks for nothing then trying to shut him down making the Superperformance Daytona Coupe deal (which blew up spectacularly in his face). Fraud Cobra frames he claimed were from the original production run. Labor issues from utilizing prison labor as low pay production workers. Trashing the AC Ace makers as 'winos under a bridge' for the car body that made him famous. I like a lot of what Shelby did and achieved, but can't go along with hero-worship for a complex and deeply flawed individual.

[@mry82]

I haven't had time to play video games in over 6 years, but I am pretty sure I had one of these in Forza.. never had a single reliability issue with it, and I dogged the sh!t out of it.

[@HAIDARAVEN]

The prices are up there….. the car is great for its time ….. the tech has caught up …. Today that car would be fantastic

[@DennisNieves-fm4sl]

If I had the money, I'd buy the car a spend the money and get the gremlins out. This is one of the meanest roadsters of its time. Too bad for Shelby, he was on to something again.

[@culcune]

Shelby American should re-release these (or license them to another manufacturer) as continuation cars.

[@rarecars3336]

They actually tried to with the Series II, not sure what happened with it though

[@realitycheck7340]

After reviewing a video from 05 featuring the unveiling of the Series 2 prototype at the France auto show, I researched it a bit. Apparently, the Series 2 build is alive with Shelby America. I think this cars advanced design from the 90's followed formula1 and Indy adding current technology and to correct the purists opinions will be a great candidate for a continuation

[@grimmerjxcts2206]

GM and Quality control are like + and - magnets they never get together

[@marvinheemeyer6660]

Another analogy would be "like dating a stripper. Seems like a good idea at the time until you're broke and left with a feeling that your were screwed in more ways than one. "

[@rarecars3336]

Hilarious comment LOL

[@dannyjameson302]

You mean + and +. Or - and -.

[@lqr824]

That's too mean. GM has had excellent quality control in some periods and in some ways. And + and - attract on magnets.

[@marvinheemeyer6660]

@lqr824 "Excelleant quality"??? Noooo, no no no.... Average at best but never excellent quality. It's ok if you want admit you have a Chevy emblem tattoo or fondle yourself to Chevys "real people" commercials but no, it was never excellent. If that's the case they wouldn't have needed a 60 BILLION dollar welfare check bailout to not go bankrupt.

[@BartholomewCounty]

The Oldsmobile engine was a mistake. It would have been fine with a supercharged Boss 351.

[@ChristopherOvrebo]

The "Aurora" V8, was just a Northstar from Cadillac, which unfortunately we all know is junk

[@caribman10]

How exactly was Carroll Shelby going to top the Cobra? How? The only way I could see was to "Americanize" the AC428 and actually/directly compete with the Corvette. You know, out-Jensen the Jensen Interceptor. Kinda Monteverde it, you know?

[@ekscalybur]

The problem with trying to top the Cobra in the late 90s is it was a decade too late. The Viper did it in the early 90s.

[@WhiteMouse77]

The project suffered for everything what can happen to small manufacturer if big corp is not making safety net of financial and tehnological background. Look at Viper. It could have become what it is because big corp money and tech resources were backing small department of enthusiasts...and remember sad stories of Wector or DeLorean....industrial business is cruel jungle...

[@EmanL8758]

2:35 the Northstar/Aurora V8 was originally/benchmarked against not only what Germany was offering, but also the Lexus 1UZ V8 that was in the original Lexus LS400/SC400 in the areas of refinement and power, as when Lexus launched that caused a big scramble among the Germans and American luxury brands to have V8 sedans in their lineup overnight with the W124 Mercedes 400E/E420, the aforementioned Northstar powered Cadillac Seville, and E34 BMW 540i to name a few that were created in response to Lexus. IIRC GM openly said that was the benchmark for the Aurora V8 down to that engine having the same displacement and horsepower as the Lexus LS400's. I think in Doug DeMuro's recent review of the Aurora, he stated that the Aurora felt alot like a Lexus of the same era.

[@rarecars3336]

makes sense the 1uz and the M60/M62 V8s are fairly similar and would have competed in the same class of sedans. Personally I LOVE the e34 bodystyle so I am biased towards those

[@salvadordollyparton666]

i don't know why, but for years i thought these were ford powered... maybe just wishful thinking. cause that's exactly what they should've had... a cobra 4.6, then it would've been around 320 to start. but then, the viper also should've been. i don't know why anybody has ever thought they were really anything special. but then, i don't see anything special with big ls or chrysler v8s today either. easy to make power with 6+ liters and especially with a supercharger on top of that... but ford is always so damn stupid, they come out with an awesome engine and then only offer it in trucks, and even then just a few years really. like the 6.2. there was so much hype when they came out, the new boss... and they only put em in trucks, and only the f150 for a couple years. they could've stopped all this stupid ls swap bs cold. cause that's all most idiots can understand, this number bigger... but thanks to all the huge inefficient v8s over the years from gm and chrysler, now we get electric cars instead of efficient overhead cams and turbos with renewable fuels... and still, they only made the problem much worse... but big cities won't have as much pollution, so who cares? idiots... i get why shelby didn't wanna mess with ford for a while, they drive me crazy... their best engines and vehicles get dropped for bullshit. instead of broncos through the 90s and on, with good v8s that'll last, we got nothing and v6 di turbo engines that'll never be able to last just because of their nature. a turbo di engine is never gonna last like port injected engine. drop the lightning, harley f150. they should've built an iron 4 valve 5.4, with a supercharger for lariat or something until the 6.2 was released. and that should've been put in a mustang, or something lighter than a huge truck. but then, they and all manufacturers should do a LOT of things they never do... fuck em, never will i buy another new anything. it's just ridiculous now. close to 100k for something that'll barely last 5 years and you'll never even get a decade out of. who buys this shit?

[@rarecars3336]

I also thought that these had a 4.6 Ford for the longest time

[@justinwhitaker3537]

I thought they put a 427 in a couple cars.

[@realitycheck7340]

You are correct. There was 1 Series 1 that Carroll purchased back from the original owner and did full update and modifications (in today's world it is called a RESTOMOD by Carroll Shelby) to duplicate the Shelby Chassis car seen in this video. Carroll produced a beast known as the SS1 Race Car with a 427 cu in / 658hp with the intention to be a 200mph car ,which was successful. The 2 cars noted earlier were followed by the Shelby Series 2 Concept (France Show) to establish a Shelby Series 2. Time will tell but one thing for sure, Shelby America has always been exciting and never disappointing. In my opinion, and seems to the majority after looking or attending every major collection auction or classic car sales venue. The Shelby Brand is King!

[@deansapp4635]

A old friend of my bought one new. Met Carroll and Carroll autographed the car. I even Autocross it. What a neat car

[@Seaker24]

The interior reminds me of a Mazda Miata. GM is their own worst enemy.

[@rarecars3336]

Yeah it really needed a nicer interior for the price

[@lawrencebmarshall]

Sadly it looks like a kit car, not even a good one. The styling is so overwrought. Then you have a dashboard that looks like it was pulled from a Gen 1 Viper.

[@jonmeray713]

I think the viper was better

[@rarecars3336]

Objectively as a car yes, you would be hard pressed to want to spend as much as 2 vipers for one of these

[@craigz9590]

What hurt it first and foremost for me was the looks...Like something TVR would make..

[@grahambell4298]

TVR made cars that look better than this, especially the Griffith and the Chimaera. TVR also made some of the most stylish sports car interiors ever, in contrast to having some grey plastic dashboard that looks like it came straight out of a mass production car. You only have to sit in a TVR to know you're in something special. I know because I'm lucky enough to own one.

[@rarecars3336]

I like the way this car looks, but the Chimaera is a GOOD looking car

[@davidpistek6241]

If gm supported it better and marketed it as a viper like halo car for Olds wonder if we would still have olds or if Shelby would spend his late years at Ford, the whole lack of support and a consistent amount of capital killed it early and it was born with a major handicap, chevy would never allow it but imagine a ls motor and a c5 transaxle,

[@rarecars3336]

Yeah that combination of C5 parts would have made more sense

[@Bigzar027]

He really should have just charge Ford up the ass for use off his name honestly it not roush cobra or super snake or gt 500 or Shelby blessed Ford with not ab123at Le mens just to piss Enzo off

[@jamesrobinson9176]

Ssems like a good time to remind everyone that the engineers are the ones who bankrupt gm. Prove me wrong.

[@KapiteinKrentebol]

I would say the top level executives, If they can't get the engineering department in line, I don't see why they would need to earn so much.

[@donjohnson3701]

The lawyers and unions did GM no favors, the engineers were pawns in the game

[@jamesrobinson9176]

@@KapiteinKrentebol how many stories of a "concept" costing billions with no hopes of production have we heard from gm? Here's another failure. The engineers are given a budget to design a production car and then come up with something gm can't produce in their factories and blow the budget by double or more.

[@HoosierDaddy_]

When these cars were being developed, they were just an embarrassing joke. I never saw a good review on these. Those Aurora V8's sounded great but they were plagued with problems. The cars looked great imo. The whole project was a disaster, sadly.

[@Bigzar027]

Honestly that's his biggest mistake na let Ford piss him off that much that instead charging $ when they need his name he left did the Daytona an him getting iroc to use it in the iroc series that was what was best part of that best part of the Daytona thing Daytona wasit just wasn't a cobra but yeah the was a 💩more flys no smile

[@m.b.82]

Seeing some of the atrocious welds on all that beautiful billet machined front subframe, it's not a surprise there were QC issues on this beautifully designed beast. What a shame.

[@codysterling7695]

Well it was a failure from the beginning using gm parts.

[@daveogarf]

*#SAD*

[@rarecars3336]

Agreed :(

[@-joe-davidson]

Teaming up with GM for anything is always a huge mistake. GM is notorious for making absolute junk.

[@user-rd3bv7qu3i]

Never heard of him, or the car looks outdated

[@flat6fever680]

OMG it's hideously over styled.

[@clydephilpot822]

I'm sorry but Carroll Shelby should not have built this car with GM which stands for generic motors the was Ford powered CAR!!

[@InsaneBimmer]

100% Shelby? Yeah, that was just a lame GM parts bin special. This taught him to stick with Ford and avoid the GM garbage.

[@rarecars3336]

Fully custom chassis so I wouldn't just call it parts bin special in all aspects

[@freedomfighter5054]

Boy, the weather describe that car was the transmission in the back engine in the front 50-50. Sounds like the new GTD mustang.

[@rarecars3336]

The new GTD is going to be sweet!

[@realitycheck7340]

@@rarecars3336 We will see if enough buyers want to shell out 300+K for a performance Ford because this is not the GT but only having some parts. I understand the release of the GTD today seeing a new Ford family member is heading up the Performance or Racing program. My money is not on the GTD.

[@gregkollaeg2365]

Why the hell would you make a sports car with an engine from an oldsmobil? And why using GM parts? Extremely poor decisions!

[@rarecars3336]

To be fair the engine wasn't terrible. It just was not the best fit for this car

[@nickwells20]

That's the ugly early gen 3 Viper. Actually the Shelby is much prettier.

[@tonypitsacota2513]

*IN OUR NEXT EPISODE: THE 1987 DODGE SHELBY GLH-S FERRARI KILLER* ! Jeez... You guy might have the worst taste on youtube....

[@rarecars3336]

You can't seriously compare the Shelby Series 1 to the GLH-S lol

[@marvinheemeyer6660]

If I could get one that junky ass engine has to go. It needs a Ford Voodoo flat plane crank V8 in it.

[@rarecars3336]

That would be the engine I would swap in as well!

[@clydephilpot822]

They should have named the car Murphy's law. 😡🤬👎🖕😅 Should have stayed with Ford not a G. M. C. Generic motors corporation 🖕👎

[@stevewellman3154]

Let’s face it, the car never looked or ran as well as the original. The Aurora V8 was a flop, the body design was dated at the outset. Shelby was out of his league…. Until he helped make the Viper!!!!!! Now we’re talkin!

[@rarecars3336]

I disagree on the body design I really like the way this looks, but I agree the aurora engine was not the move here, the new LS1 would have been much better or even a 4v 4.6L ford

[@realitycheck7340]

Not sure you know enough here about that engine or Shelby history. There should be some kind of a test to comment? Shelby's involvement with the initial design of the Viper was in the late 80's to early 1990's. First Viper came out i 1992 and was literally a scatter of left over parts from the Dodge bins. Basically in a bankrupt stage and did pull Dodge out with great help from an executive. What a story and success of the Viper history. The Series 1 was design and built by Shelby in the mid to late 1990's. The comment above could be the result and maybe the reason for helmet laws, but it's to late after the 1st hit.

[@assininecomment1630]

This crappy automated narration - and presumably A.I. written script - really, _really_ wear out quickly. 😒

[@robertphillips3078]

This so called evolution of the Cobra in 1999 is just terrible. May have been fast . But it didnt look good at all . The original Cobra came from the UK in the 1960's . All Carrol Shelby did was drop in a V8 & beef up the guards . Same with the GT40 . If my memory serves me well it was also originally from the UK . But handled like a bucket of crap 2 which Shelby & his drivers went about sorting out & eventually fixing & then going on 2 Win Lemans & as we know destruction of Ferrari.

[@briankearn6991]

Shelby’s GT 350 was also developed in England by Alan Mann Racing and raced in the Monte Carlo Rally, then Shelby brought to Ford in the US and claimed it as his own.

[@Robert-mn8gc]

@@briankearn6991 The Yanks love taking over stuff & calling it there own .

[@GiancarloFloyd]

Are used to work at an Allen Samuels dodge dealership and a guy traded one of these in for a viper and everybody was drooling over this car until it sat at the dealership for two years because they wanted the price of three vipers for this car, it eventually got auctioned off.

[@rarecars3336]

Yeah 200k for these in 1999 was ridiculous

[@grabindragin3307]

Should've just bought a miata and upscaled it about 15%. It would have been a whole lot easier