Synopses & Reviews
Shelbys are the most iconic performance cars in the history of the American auto industry. This lavishly illustrated work conducts readers through Shelby American's forty-plus years. An exhaustive review of American high performance, from the first Cobra produced in 1962 through today's fire-breathing, world-beating Shelby GT500KR Mustang,
The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles offers an in-depth look at the ultra high-performance cars that have made Carroll Shelby a living automotive legend. With extensive details, specs, and photographic coverage, this book is the ultimate resource on America's most exotic performance car.
See Motorbooks author Colin Comer interviewed by Jay Leno on JayLenosGarage.com: www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/jays-book-club-lee-klancher/1211582/
Review
“Colin Comer may have been born to do this book…a beautiful book on every level… this book has it all – lovely writing in a tone of a friend over a pint telling you stories about cars that got away, handsome photographs, important photographs, plenty of inside information and insights, all bound up in a package as elegant and purposeful as the Cobra itself. Bravo.” – Sports Car Market, February 2010
“Colin Comer gives a thorough compilation of detailed information and photography about Shelby Mustangs, Cobras and Super Snakes from 1962 through today’s GT500KR.” – The Kansas City Star, November 27, 2009
“Shelby’s story is oft-told, but this book brings together all of his vehicular projects – from the first Cobra (photographed before he had decided ton the name “Cobra”) to his latest hot Mustangs – with all the highs and lows in between. Author Comer delivers an amazing amount of history in a very readable fashion, and the old-time and contemporary photographs are reproduced beautifully.” – Muscle Car Review, January 2010
“When you see a book described on its cover as being “complete,” your eyebrow automatically goes up. This is especially true when that adjective is describing a book on Shelby cars. There are so many examples, permutations and exceptions swirling around in the Cobra/Shelby universe that it’s almost a slam-dunk to imagine that something was overlooked. This is clearly not the case with SAAC member Colin Comer’s latest book. He tells the story and he gets it just right; he doesn’t gloss over the important stuff and it’s not a puff piece or an homage to Carroll Shelby. The glossy pages of this book have a very high quality feel to them. The reproduction of the photos are second to none and the color values are perfect. You will not be disappointed with this book.” - The Shelby American (SAAC Newsletter)
“The perfect volume for tracing the lineage of every Shelby-built machine from the first Cobra in 1962 to today's GT500KR.” - Edmunds InsideLine.com, November 24, 2009
Review
“In a few short years, Colin Comer has emerged as a leading voice when it comes to muscle cars and other high-performance American machines. Packed with great vintage images (and much current color photography), it’s perfect for anyone with an interest in great American sports and racing cars.” – Hagerty’s
“No doubt, when they say complete they mean it. The book is some serious reading at around 256 pages, but well worth it. Comer teamed up with one of my favorite automotive photographers, David Newhardt, who produces some amazing photos of various Shelby machines throughout the book. You'll also find plenty of historic photos in the mix. If you are at all interested in Carroll Shelby and Shelby American, I recommend giving this one a read.” – About.com
Review
Muscle Car Review, January 2009
“Shelby’s story is oft-told, but this book brings together all of his vehicular projects – from the first Cobra (photographed before he had decided ton the name “Cobra”) to his latest hot Mustangs – with all the highs and lows in between. Author Comer delivers an amazing amount of history in a very readable fashion, and the old-time and contemporary photographs are reproduced beautifully.”
The Shelby American (Shelby American Automobile Club), Fall 2009
“When you see a book described on its cover as being “complete,” your eyebrow automatically goes up. This is especially true when that adjective is describing a book on Shelby cars. There are so many examples, permutations and exceptions swirling around in the Cobra/Shelby universe that it’s almost a slam-dunk to imagine that something was overlooked. This is clearly not the case with SAAC member Colin Comer’s latest book. He tells the story and he gets it just right; he doesn’t gloss over the important stuff and it’s not a puff piece or an homage to Carroll Shelby. The glossy pages of this book have a very high quality feel to them. The reproduction of the photos are second to none and the color values are perfect. You will not be disappointed with this book.”
Examiner.com, October 15, 2009
"The Complete Book of Shelby is just that - a complete listing of Shelby automobiles. And while the story of Carroll Shelby the man has been told over and over, finally, Comer has given Shelby enthusiasts what they want. Something fresh and new that talks less about the man and more about the cars. Pairing Comer's unique, entertaining writing style with never before seen archival photographs and current pictures, The Complete Book of Shelby is in a class all by itself.
Bangshift.com, November 17, 2009
“Colin Comer's The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles covers all the bases, and we mean all of them. Even the guy who "knows" about Shelby cars will be educated by reading this book. No matter what you think of Carroll Shelby, his story is uniquely American and pretty inspiring. He's a marketer par excellence and has played to his strengths through his long career with cars. This book educated us, awed us with photos, and earned our respect with an balanced look at the long and storied history of the vaunted Shelby name.”
Review
Vintage Motorsport
“Who needed another book on Shelby anything, yet author Colin Comer delivers in spades, taking the reader on a ride through Shelby American’s exciting 40-plus years, from the very first Cobra to the New Millennium Shelbys. Blended nicely with historic and contemporary photographs, pleasing graphic design adds to the informative and pleasurable read. Specs and details abound, so yes, it’s well worth adding this to your Shelby book collection.”
Sports Car Market
“Colin Comer may have been born to do this book…a beautiful book on every level… this book has it all – lovely writing in a tone of a friend over a pint telling you stories about cars that got away, handsome photographs, important photographs, plenty of inside information and insights, all bound up in a package as elegant and purposeful as the Cobra itself. Bravo.”
Muscle Car Enthusiast
“A lot of ink has been spilled chronicling the life and times of Carroll Shelby, so it’s not easy to produce a Shelby book that delivers a fresh take. Colin Comer’s The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles: Cobras, Mustangs, and Super Snakes is one of those rare volumes that covers a lot of familiar territory yet finds new things to say.”
Review
“…that's just what The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles by Colin Comer is. As an in-depth look at perhaps the most interesting series of cars, built by arguably America's most interesting automotive icon, this hardbound tribute to Carroll Shelby's vehicles is over 250 pages of historic (and modern) photos, facts and fun. If you fancy yourself an expert on Shelby automobiles consider reading this book an excellent test of your knowledge, as I'm betting you'll still learn plenty. If you don't know anything about them, here's your chance to get fully caught up in one quick and entertaining read.” — Edmunds.com
Synopsis
In 1962 a successful race driver named Carroll Shelby, a man with an itch to build a sports car, unleashed the Shelby Cobra on the world. The car, a petite AC sports car with a Ford V-8 engine stuffed under its hood, should have been an instant anachronism. Instead, the Cobra soon proved to be the hottest thing on four wheels, dominating racetracks from Laguna Seca to Le Mans. The Complete Book of Shelby Automobiles: Cobras, Mustangs, and Super Snakes details all of Shelby’s automotive creations, from the first Cobras and Mustang GT350s of the 1960s through the one-off race cars to the very latest Mustangs Shelby produces today.
Synopsis
A lavishly illustrated tour of Shelby American's forty-plus years of making the most iconic performance cars in U.S. automotive history, with extensive details, specs, and spectacular photographs.
About the Author
Shelby American gained almost instant recognition from the moment the first Cobra hit the street. The entire original Cobra/Ford GT/Shelby Mustang period spanned just over eight years, eight years filled with countless racing accomplishments, the World Manufacturer’s Championship, a 1-2-3 finish at LeMans, you name it and Shelby won it. The underdog did it, and to this day we are still rooting for him. And deservedly so.
The stories and accomplishments are legendary, but none more so than what can only be described as the magic this company and its cars possess to this day. It was the perfect storm. Shelby found the right ingredients, the right talent, the right sponsors, the right drivers, and enough unbridled enthusiasm to take what some had called “a bunch of junk” out into the world and not come home until there wasn’t a challenge they didn’t win. Call it what you will - dumb luck, stubbornness, or just being in the right place at the right time, nobody can deny that we will never see the likes of anything like Shelby ever again.
The Complete Book of Shelby is just that - a complete listing of Shelby automobiles. It is the story of every car ever touched by that Shelby magic. From Cobras to Mustangs, race cars to street cars, AC Cars to Toyota, it is your ticket to knowing a little more about every vehicle that Shelby "messed with" as the big Texan would say. Like anybody else, and any other manufacturer, Shelby had its ups and downs. There were great cars and cars we’d rather forget. But the story is indeed one of legend, and larger than life. The tale and the cars transcend traditional boundaries. It doesn’t matter if you are a Chevy person or a European car enthusiast, a drag racer or a road racer, into NASCAR or sports cars, or even if you're not even really a "car person" there is something about Shelby that appeals to us all. It is an American success story. And not one of us can ever deny we always respect the underdog who beat all the odds to come out on top. That, in a nutshell, is the story of Shelby American. And every one of the cars that follows has that DNA in it. Grab a copy of the Complete Book of Shelby, fasten your lap belt, and enjoy the ride.
www.colinsclassicauto.com
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction: The Chicken Farmer Decides to Build a Race Car
Section I: First Bite: The Shelby Cobras and Other Early Projects
Part 1: 260/289 Cobras
Chapter 1: Leaf-Spring Cobra Street Cars
Chapter 2: Leaf-Spring Cobra Competition Cars Roadsters
Chapter 3: Cobra Daytona Coupes: As Good As It Gets?
Chapter 4: Small-Block “Dragonsnake” Drag Racers and Slalom Snake: Snakes for Straight Lines and Parking Lots
Chapter 5: 1963–1964 Shelby “King Cobra” Cooper Monacos
Part 2: 427 Cobras
Chapter 6: 427 Cobra Street Cars
Chapter 7: 427 Cobra Competition Cars
Chapter 8: 427 Cobra S/C and S/C Completion Cars
Chapter 9: 427 “Dragonsnake” Drag Racer
Chapter 10: 427 Daytona Super Coupe
Chapter 11: The Other Super Snakes: The Twin-Paxton Supercharged 427 Cobras
Part 3: Other Shelby Projects
Chapter 12: 1964–1967 Sunbeam Tiger: The Red-Headed Stepchild
Chapter 13: 1968 Shelby Toyota 2000GT SCCA Program: Tokyo Drift
Section II: Shelby Fords
Part 4: Seeing a Man about a Horse: The Mustang Years
Chapter 14: 1965 GT350: The Texan Gives the Pony Some Teeth
Chapter 15: 1965 GT350 Factory Competition Models (R Models)
Chapter 16: 1965–1966 GT350 Factory Drag Cars
Chapter 17: 1966 GT350
Chapter 18: 1967 GT350 and GT500
Chapter 19: 1968 Shelby GT350 and GT500
Chapter 20: 1969–1970 Shelby GT350 and GT500
Chapter 21: 1967–1971 Shelby de Mexico
Part 5: On to Beat Ferrari
Chapter 22: The Ford GT40
Section III: Shelby and Lee Iacocca’s Excellent Adventure
Part 6: The Shelby Dodges
Chapter 23: 1983–1987 Dodge Shelby Charger
Chapter 24: 1984–1986 Dodge Omni GLH
Chapter 25: 1986 Shelby Omni GLHS and 1987 Shelby GLHS Charger
Chapter 26: 1987 Shelby Lancer
Chapter 27: 1987–1989 Shelby Shadow CSX, CSX-T, and CSX-VNT
Chapter 28: 1989 Shelby Dodge Dakota
Part 7: Other Shelby Mopar Projects
Chapter 29: The Dodge Viper’s Shelby Connection
Chapter 30: Another Race Car for the Masses: 1989 Shelby Can-Am–Spec Racer
Section IV: New Millennium Shelbys
Part 8: Not Your Father’s Oldsmobile, He Just Stole the Engine
Chapter 31: 1999 Shelby Series 1
Part 9: What’s Old Is New Again: The Continuation Shelby Cobras
Chapter 32: CSX7000 and CSX8000 289 Continuation Cobras
Chapter 33: CSX1000 and CSX4000 427 Continuation Cobras
Section V: 1965 All Over Again
Part 10: Back to Ford
Chapter 34: 2004 Ford Shelby Cobra Concept Car and 2005 Shelby GR-1 Concept Car
Chapter 35: 2005–2006 Ford GT Supercar
Chapter 36: 2006–2007 Mustang Shelby GT-Hertz and 2007–2009 Mustang Shelby GT
Chapter 37: 2007–2009 Mustang Shelby GT500, GT500 KR, and GT500 Super Snake