Mention the name Carroll Shelby->ke81 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->ke1359, 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.

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