Detroit News --
DEARBORN -- In the 1960s, they took the world of auto racing by storm and injected high performance under the hoods of street-legal Mustangs and Cobras.
Together, Carroll Shelby and Ford Motor Co. ushered in an era of horsepower and speed that changed the stature of the American sports car forever.
Now, after more than 40 years apart, Shelby is back in the driver's seat again at Ford.
The No. 2 U.S. automaker has formed a "historic new partnership" with Shelby to develop specialty performance versions of its hottest new cars.
Shelby, 80, has been a technical adviser on the upcoming Ford GT supercar since last year. But his new contract with Ford could lead to a retro-renaissance of souped-up Mustangs to rival the best of the '60s.
"We're partners again," Shelby said in an interview. "What I want to do are those things I always wanted to do -- build sports cars."
Ford executives are almost in awe of the legendary Shelby, an East Texas chicken farmer who won the famed Le Mans 24-hour road race in
1959, then built a fleet of Ford race cars that beat Ferrari, Jaguar and Porsche at their own game."The Shelby name is magic, and it seems magical that he is back at Ford," said Chris Theodore, Ford's vice president for advanced product creation. "There are a lot of opportunities to do some stunning cars."
The Shelby legacy was on display at this weekend's Dream Cruise on Woodward Avenue -- the Mustang GT-350 with its classic blue-and-white body, the big-block GT-500, the first Mustang Cobras christened in
1968.Ford and Shelby declined comment on possible plans to create a brand-new Cobra based on the next-generation Mustang.
But Ford clearly sees Shelby's aura and experience as a valuable asset in shining up the tarnished image of its passenger-car lineup.
The first step is the low-slung, 500-horsepower GT, due out next year with a price tag of about $130,000.
Shelby, who also played a prominent role in developing the Dodge Viper for Chrysler Corp., knows how a halo car can breathe life into a brand.
"As far as I'm concerned, the Viper turned the future of Dodge around," he said. "The GT can do wonders for Ford."
Shelby still builds his own line of Cobras, and recently folded Los-Angeles-based Carroll Shelby International Inc. into the shell of a publicly traded company. He hopes to work with Ford to expand the marketing of his trademark merchandise and licenses.
"I'd like for my things to carry on long after I'm gone," he said.
Coming back to Ford is full circle for the tougher-than-
leather Texan who popped nitroglycerine tablets for his heart condition in the middle of the Le Mans endurance race.
His new arrangement with Ford reminded Shelby of his handshake deal 40 years ago with Lee Iacocca, then head of the Ford division, to turn the Mustang into a red-blooded, American sports car.
"I told Lee that I can build a car that will blow Corvette off the track for $25 million," Shelby said. "He gave it to me, probably to get me out of the office before I bit somebody."
Patrick '93 Cobra