Carroll Shelby is, without a doubt, the most influential chicken farmer in the automotive industry. We talking about a farm-boy from Texas who decided that he wanted to stick it to the rich, big-shot Europeans in their Ferraris; he certainly did. While the highlight of his racing career was certainly when he piloted an Aston Martin DBR1 to victory in the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Strangely, in the end, the most important thing that happened during this race was when Shelby looked over his shoulder and thought "hey, that AC Bristol looks like a really great little sports car." Later that little British roadster would gain a big-ass American V8 and become one of the greatest sports cars to ever represent the stars and stripes.
That, however, was only the beginning of Shelby's long career of creating the best cars to ever come out of the USA. These are Carroll Shelby's 25 Best Cars.
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25. Shelby GLH-S
24. Donzi Shelby 22 GT
23. Dodge Shelby Charger
22. Dodge Daytona Shelby
21. Ford Shelby GT500
20. Shelby CSX-VNT
19. Ford Shelby GT500
18. Shelby Series 1
17. Shelby Cobra Mk. I
16. Willment/Ghia Coupe
15. Shelby Cobra Mk. II
14. Shelby GT 350-H
13. Ford GT
12. Shelby GT 500
11. Dragonsnake Cobra
10. Ford Shelby GT500
9. Dodge Viper
8. Ford Mustang GT350
7. Shelby Cobra GT 500-KR
6. Shelby Cobra Mk. III
5. Shelby 1000
4. Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe
3. Shelby GT 350R
2. Ford GT40
1. Shelby Cobra SuperSnake
Year: 1966
Complex Says: The SuperSnake was designed to be "the cobra to end all cobras," and it succeeded in both being this, and scaring the everliving crap out of Bill Cosby (see the video below). Shelby only ever made two of these; one for himself and one for Cosby. Cosby drove it once and returned it, and it eventually ended up in the hands of a Tony Maxey, who accidentally drove it off a cliff and into the ocean. This is the kind of car that is greater than all but the most talented and well trained drivers.