Shelby cars

Video: Man sells $200 raffle ticket only to see the buyer win a 2011 Shelby GT500

A man who held a ticket for a chance to win a 2011 Shelby GT500 sold it for $200 to another dude who ended up winning the car. Ridiculous? Yeah.

Unbelievably enough, it’s also true.

In a scene straight out of a Hollywood script, an attendee at this year’s QuakeCon Gaming Festival that was held in Dallas sold a raffle ticket – it was just one of 100, actually – for just $200. Turns out, it didn’t take long for this sale to backfire on the poor attendant.

Moments after thinking that he just swindled $200 from the supposed “schmuck” who purchased it, the latter’s newly-bought raffle ticket was chosen among the 100 tickets, winning him a $50,000 Shelby GT500.

One of the hosts summed up the whole situation perfectly by saying, “He’s (the seller) gonna have some drinks tonight. He’s (the buyer) going home with a Shelby GT500!”

Talk about a broad spectrum of emotions at play. The seller’s probably kicking himself right now and the buyer, well, to say he’s ecstatic is a gross understatement.

Carroll Shelby to retire from car production?

Mention the name Carroll Shelby to anyone who knows about cars and the first word that would come out of their mouths is ’legend’ - and for good reason. As the man behind the iconic Shelby line of Mustangs, Carroll Shelby has given us some of the most priceless and sought-after Mustang models in history.

But as is the case with any successful story, an ending will eventually come. Rumors are circulating that Shelby’s latest project, the 2011 Mustang GT 350, just may be his final one, too.

At 87 years old, nobody’s going to hold it against him if he decides to finally retire from building cars, but according to the man himself, age has nothing to do with the decision to stop car production. Rather, the departure eventually boiled down to Shelby believing his performance parts development and sales are becoming a more profitable option than his customized Mustangs.

"I want to build fewer cars and sell more parts," Shelby said to the Dallas News. "It’s hard to make any money on a car, but our parts business is growing 15 to 20 percent a year."

While we may still see parts of Carroll Shelby’s legacy in the performance parts that he plans to continue building, the fact that this American muscle car icon is walking away from building his patented bad boys marks a sad day for the specialized market, one that will probably have a lasting effect in the near and far future.

Baby Cobra is a nice alternative for Shelby-loving enthusiasts

Comparing a Shelby Cobra to snow may be the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever heard, but hear us out first. For all the giddiness we feel when we first see snowflakes falling on the ground, it’s pretty much the same feeling we have when we see a Shelby Cobra. However, as time passes on, the effect of snow becomes less of a novelty and more of a hassle. Snow angels are replaced with the chore of having to shovel snow on the streets, making it a tedious and tiring experience.

To some extent, that’s exactly what we feel with the Cobra. The first few times are awesome, blasting in and around streets at breakneck speeds with not a care in the world. That is until we realize the fact that this car comes with a 7.0-liter V8 engine. Yeah, it’s a gas-guzzling serpent and not exactly a healthy option for our wallets.

But what if we told you that you could have your cake and eat it too? No, we are not talking about the girls in the picture, but of an actual Cobra. Would you listen?

Continued after the jump

Shelby adds SCCA-ready version to the GT350 Mustang

Carroll Shelby had to be a genius. Only a genius could come up with such an amazing car like the 1965 Shelby GT350. This is evident in the resurrection of the small block muscle car for the 2011 model year. As if the reinvention is not enough, Shelby announced today it will expand the GT350 Mustang line-up with the addition of a normally aspirated version. This consumer demand-driven model is aimed at competition in Sports Car Club of America events and will allow the street car to be ordered with an automatic transmission.

"When we brought back the GT350, people wanted to race it like they did with our Shelby GT," said Shelby American Founder Carroll Shelby. "Others asked for an automatic transmission. So we’re dropping the supercharger, retuning the engine and adding an automatic. This gives people more choices with the GT350."

The SCCA doesn’t allow for after market modifications such as the turbocharger so dropping it in lieu of a naturally-aspirated version will elate car enthusiasts wanting to burn Shelby rubber at the SCCA events.

The SCCA racer GT350 is powered by 5.0 liter V8 coupled to a 6 speed transmission producing 412hp. The street version of this model will come with the same engine tuned to deliver more than the factory 412hp, although exact numbers have not yet been calculated. The super-charged GT350 will produce over 500hp and will be mated to a six-speed manual. All cars will be painted in traditional white with Shelby Guardsman blue Le Mans stripes and will get a new front fascia, tail light trim, front splitter, rear deck lid filler panel and rear fascia.

The price for the normally aspirated GT350 package is $26,995.00 plus the cost of the GT350 itself. The supercharged version is priced at $33,995.

Press release after the jump.

Video: Tow company owner gets paid to own an authentic Shelby Cobra body and chassis

Imagine yourself waking up one day, going to work in a towing company, and find yourself driving off with an authentic Shelby Cobra body, and you even get paid to do it, then consider yourself very lucky.

While replica Shelby Cobras are made by over 100 shops in the US alone, the chances of actually finding a legitimate chassis and body of one of the most revered muscle cars in history is pretty remote. But the owner of the tow company – his name’s Shawn, by the way - that moved the body of this Shelby Cobra found himself sitting on a proverbial goldmine after he was paid to remove it from a storage facility when the owner failed to pay the rent and ended up forfeiting the entire unit. Nevada laws stipulate that when a tow company contacts the registered owners of the car and goes 90 days without a response, the tow company automatically takes legal ownership of the car.

So when Shawn discovered what he indeed was paid to own, he went to the Gold and Silver Pawnshop in Vegas to have his new property estimated. In the end, the pawnshop called in no less than the president of Shelby Cars Northwest who confirmed that they indeed had the real deal, valuing the Shelby Cobra chassis at around $60,000. After a few rounds of negotiations, Shawn ended up selling the car for $30,000 to the pawnshop’s owner, Richard Harrison, who later on had the car completed for a relatively bargain price of just $80,000.

This story isn’t good enough without actually seeing how everything went down. So check out the video and watch for yourself how this whole episode came to be.

2010 Factory Five Mk4 Roadster

The folks at Factory Five Racing, the premiere Shelby Cobra replica builders in the world, have just come out with their fourth generation roadster complete with a reshaped body for a more period correct look thanks to a new in house fiberglass manufacturing process that significantly reduces the costs to tool the bodywork and apply the paint as well as additional room in the footwells for a more comfortable ride for both the driver and passenger and an optional aluminum shell seat for bigger guys.

The Mk4 roadster replica also comes with an all new assembly manual for complete kits making it easier to put the cars together from scratch as well as a Koni suspension that was first offered as an option on the last generation model and are now standard with all kits, but best of all they are made to accept the all new 400 HP 5.0 Liter Coyote V8 from the new Mustang GT.

Press release after the jump.

1964 Shelby Cobra up for grabs at RM Auctions on March 12

Every well-versed car enthusiast will tell you that if there was a car that would be considered as the ‘Holy Grail’ of automobiles, more than a few would say that the 1964 Shelby Cobra would fit that bill to a tee.

That being said, if you’re a self-professed car nut and you’ve got a ton of money to boot, then you have the opportunity – and a rare one at that – to buy an original ’64 Shelby Cobra when the car, chassis CSX2557, becomes up for grabs at an RM Auction on March 13.

The auction, which will coincide with the Amelia Island Concours, will feature a boatload of some of the world’s most exotic classics but none more so than the ’64 Cobra. The CSX2557 was produced to race in the U.S. Road Racing Championships and is just one of 42 189-powered racecars and one of only six “cut-back door” factory team cars to ever be built.

There’s no question this particular Shelby Cobra is as rare as it gets. There’s no telling how much this car is going to cost you but if you’re the type to peg a number, then you might have to shell out north of $1 million for the privilege of taking this ’64 Shelby Cobra home.

Car description after the jump

Morgan’s and Philip’s reach licensing agreement with Shelby America

Shelby America, known for creating some of the most powerful cars in the world, is venturing on an entirely different industry with the hopes of giving their loyal and ardent fans reason to wear their devotion for Shelby in a different way.

The American coachbuilder recently announced a licensing agreement with Morgan’s & Philip’s clothing company to produce an apparel line showcasing Shelby and its unique place in American auto lore. The Shelby line, which will be manufactured exclusively here in the, is scheduled to be launched on the 1st of February and will give all Shelby fans more reason to wear their love for the brand on their sleeves – no pun intended.

2011 Shelby GT350 Mustang

In celebration of the original 1965 Shelby GT350’s 45th anniversary, Shelby American recently unveiled an all new version of their classic small block muscle car at the opening night extravaganza of the Barrett-Jackson auction. The original GT350 was well known for its ability to get around corners and enjoyed quite a bit of success as a production class race car and will be resurrected in the form of an all new Ford Mustang. While the 2011 GT350 that was on display at the gala was only a concept conceived in cooperation with experts from Ford Racing, Borla exhaust, Goodyear tires, Cragar wheels and Baer brakes; Shelby will be offering a take home version very soon.

For an additional $33,995 over the price of a brand new 5.0 Liter Ford Mustang GT, Shelby will deliver a 500 HP supercharged pony car sitting on a Ford Racing suspension rolling around on a set of 19 inch retro muscle car wheel housing a set of massive six piston brake calipers and a modern aero package covered in the signature Shelby white livery with Guardsman Blue Le Mans racing stripes running the length of the vehicle. The best part about owning a brand new GT350 is that the car comes to you via your local Ford dealer after being prepared in Shelby’s Las Vegas based workshop, so not only do you get the reliability of a brand new car under warranty but it is also one of the cheapest ways to buy into the Shelby American registry.

Press release after the jump.

Shelby Mustang Turbo package

Besides the F150 Super Snake Concept, Shelby also revealed in Las Vegas (not SEMA), a new turbocharged package for 2007-2008 Shelby GT’s and 2005-2009 Ford Mustang GT’s with a manual transmission. The cost of the package is $22,599, not including the car.

The package uses a Turbonetics single-turbo system that increase the output of the 4.6-liter V8 engine to an amazing 550 hp. Besides that the package also features: Shelby Pro-Plus 4 wheel brake system and a performance suspension, Borla dual exhaust, Shelby Bar Grille and stripes and 18” X 9” chrome aluminum wheels.

Press release after the jump.