Shelby was one of the idols of a misspent youth, back in my gear head days. Never got to drive a Cobra, did get to ride in the original 289 version in the mid 60s and later, a 427 SCCA legal one. Wow!
Last interview I saw with him before he croaked, he was yakking about his latest efforts with the Mustang. IIRC, he said they were getting 800 HP out of the engine. When asked what he thought the limit was, he said probably a thousand?
A true American character. I rank him up there with Chuck Yeager and a few others. As for the GT40, even given its age, still one of the best looking cars ever created.
