Shelby Series 1 History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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The Shelby Series 1 was the only car Carroll Shelby designed and built entirely from the ground up rather than modifying an existing chassis. A lightweight roadster with an aluminum/carbon-fiber structure, it broke with Shelby tradition by using a General Motors engine — Oldsmobile's 4.0-liter Aurora DOHC V8, tuned to roughly 320 hp.
Production delays, redesigns, rising costs, and corporate turmoil slashed the planned run: all 249 production cars were built as 1999 models to that year's federal safety standards, with 70 factory supercharged. Rare and now collectible, the Series 1 stands apart as the most ambitious — and most troubled — original Shelby of the modern era.
Body styles
- Roadster
Related models
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