Shelby GR-1 Concept Unveiled
8/13/04, 03:30 AM
#23
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Originally posted by vega@August 13, 2004, 5:24 AM
darn.
That IS a hot car.
Ford, please boost your image in Europe and bring in the Stangs, Shelbys,... B)
darn.
That IS a hot car.
Ford, please boost your image in Europe and bring in the Stangs, Shelbys,... B)
it'll never happen though.....
8/13/04, 04:32 AM
#24
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Originally posted by Robert@August 13, 2004, 2:26 AM
Gee, me thinks me sees a little Aston Martin in this design.
Oh, that's right, Ford owns Aston Martin.
Gee, me thinks me sees a little Aston Martin in this design.
Oh, that's right, Ford owns Aston Martin.
Looks good though.
8/13/04, 05:19 AM
#25
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<center>FORD AND SHELBY: TOGETHER AGAIN</center>
Carroll Shelby didn't enter his first automobile race - a quarter-mile drag meet - until he was nearly 30 years old. But the hot rod Shelby drove to the finish line that day in 1952 was powered by a Ford V-8.
More than a half-century later, Shelby is one of the most recognized names in performance car and racing history and is back in the Ford family producing concept and production performance cars and trucks.
Shelby's first Ford derivatives were the legendary Cobras and Shelby Mustangs of the 1960s. Today, he is one of the key collaborators on the "dream team" that built the 2005 Ford GT, which goes on sale this summer. Shelby was heavily involved in the design and engineering of the Ford Shelby Cobra concept car, which was introduced at the North American International Auto Show in 2004. He recently announced that his specialty car company will produce a limited edition Shelby Ford Expedition for sale through select Ford dealers next year.
Ford is stoking the passions of enthusiasts again by unveiling an all-new, all-modern Ford Shelby GR-1 concept car at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, signaling more excitement in the future for Ford and Shelby.
"Carroll's input is reflected in the performance underpinnings of this concept," says J Mays, Ford Motor Company group vice president, Design. "I see the Ford Shelby GR-1 concept as a gift to Carroll. We took the chassis he helped create and put this fantastic body on it."
The Legend Begins
Shelby may have started late, but he was a winner from the beginning. Just two years into his driving career, Aston Martin's racing manager, John Wyer, recruited him to co-drive a DB3 at Sebring. Within months, the chicken farmer from Texas was bumping elbows and trading paint with the likes of Juan-Manuel Fangio, Phil Hill and Paul Frère. He won Europe's prestigious 24-hour endurance race at Le Mans in 1959, driving an Aston Martin DBR1 with Roy Salvadori.
Early in 1962 Shelby drove his second Ford-powered race car. It was the first mockup for the Cobra, Shelby's now-legendary marriage of a lightweight British roadster body with a small-block Ford V-8. By January 1963, he had homologated the car under the FIA's GT Group III class, and that month a Cobra won its first race, beating a field of Corvette Stingrays at Riverside, California.
In January 1965, Ford hired Shelby to lend his expertise to the GT40 campaign. Three cars had run the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, but none of them finished. Shelby began work on installing the more reliable 7-liter stock-car engine in what would be known later as the GT40 Mark II. It proved to be considerably faster than the Mark I, and, although 1965 was another unsuccessful year at Le Mans, GT40 had become, in just two seasons, a strong contender.
Ford and Shelby tested the GT40 Mark II extensively - both in the wind tunnel and on a special dynamometer that simulated a 48-hour run of the Le Mans circuit. At the start of the 1966 season, GT40 began a four-year domination of endurance racing.
While Ford and Shelby took on Ferrari at Le Mans, they fought Corvette at home. The first effort was the legendary Shelby Cobra, a Ford-powered and Shelby-engineered derivative of the AC Ace. Production of the vehicle, which had a one-ton weight advantage over the Corvette, began in June 1962 and continued through March 1967.
The Shelby Mustang
In August 1964, Ford asked Carroll Shelby to develop a street-legal, high-performance Mustang to compete against the Corvette in SCCA B-production road racing. Shelby-American, Carroll Shelby's Californian racing shop, completed its first Mustang GT350 by September.
The 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 was a fastback production model with a functional scoop in its fiberglass hood and 306 horsepower from the 289-cubic-inch V-8 underneath - an increase of 35 horsepower over the stock Ford engine. Suspension upgrades included a larger front stabilizer bar, Koni shocks and rear traction bars and race-ready features, such as competition safety belts, a large oil-pressure gauge, tachometer and a trunk-mounted battery. It sold for $4,000 and was instantly recognizable by its Wimbledon White paint and blue GT350 side stripes along the rocker panels.
For 1966, the GT350 was offered in white, red, black, green and blue, and Hertz purchased nearly 1,000 special 1966 GT350H weekend "rent-a-racer" models. In the 1967 model year, the Shelby Mustangs sported unique fiberglass bodywork that extended the front end with an aggressive dual scoop and finished the trunk lid with an integrated spoiler.
But most important in 1967 was the new GT500, a big-block version with 355 horsepower. More than 2,000 of those 428-cubic-inch Mustangs were delivered in the first model year.
1968 was the first year the name "Cobra" was officially used on a Shelby Mustang. That year, a convertible body style became available. Although the Shelby Cobra GT350 was essentially unchanged, later GT500s were powered by the new "Cobra Jet" 428 engine and thus became the GT500KR, for King of the Road.
For 1969, the penultimate year of the Shelby Mustang, the engine choices included the optional 351 Ram Air engine, and the bodywork incorporated a total of nine scoops - five on the hood, one at the front of each fender and one on each quarter panel. In 1970, with sales slowing, the final Shelby Mustangs built for 1969 were updated to 1970 specifications and sold, ending the famed run.
Key Moments in the History of Ford and Carroll Shelby
January 1952: Carroll Shelby enters first race at the wheel of a Ford-powered hot rod.
February 1962: Shelby tests his first Ford-powered AC 260 Roadster - the car that would become the Shelby Cobra.
March 1962: Shelby-American begins operations in Venice, California.
June 1962: Cobra production begins.
August 1964: Ford asks Shelby to develop a high-performance Mustang derivative.
September 1964: First Shelby prototypes are built.
January 1965: The 1965 Shelby GT350 is introduced.
Ford hires Shelby American to oversee the GT40 program.
November 1965: Hertz begins buying GT350H versions for its "rent-a-racer" program.
June 1966: Ford GT40 Mark II wins Le Mans.
November 1966: First 1967 Shelby GT500s are delivered.
June 1967: Ford and Shelby American again win Le Mans.
November 1967: 1968 Shelby Mustang convertibles debut.
November 1968: 1969 model-year production begins.
September 1969: Shelby Mustang production ends.
February 1970: Ford and Shelby end their long-term racing agreement.
March 2001: Shelby is invited by Ford to consult on new GT40 concept for 2002 NAIAS
March 2002: Ford gives green-light to production of Ford GT based on the concept
April 2003: Ford invites Shelby to collaborate on a concept car that pays homage to the original Shelby Cobra.
January 2004: Ford Shelby Cobra steals the show at 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
January 2004: Ford asks Shelby to consult on a follow-up concept.
June 2004: Shelby announces plans to build a limited edition Shelby Ford Expedition.
August 2004: Ford unveils the Ford Shelby GR-1 concept at Pebble Beach.
Carroll Shelby didn't enter his first automobile race - a quarter-mile drag meet - until he was nearly 30 years old. But the hot rod Shelby drove to the finish line that day in 1952 was powered by a Ford V-8.
More than a half-century later, Shelby is one of the most recognized names in performance car and racing history and is back in the Ford family producing concept and production performance cars and trucks.
Shelby's first Ford derivatives were the legendary Cobras and Shelby Mustangs of the 1960s. Today, he is one of the key collaborators on the "dream team" that built the 2005 Ford GT, which goes on sale this summer. Shelby was heavily involved in the design and engineering of the Ford Shelby Cobra concept car, which was introduced at the North American International Auto Show in 2004. He recently announced that his specialty car company will produce a limited edition Shelby Ford Expedition for sale through select Ford dealers next year.
Ford is stoking the passions of enthusiasts again by unveiling an all-new, all-modern Ford Shelby GR-1 concept car at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, signaling more excitement in the future for Ford and Shelby.
"Carroll's input is reflected in the performance underpinnings of this concept," says J Mays, Ford Motor Company group vice president, Design. "I see the Ford Shelby GR-1 concept as a gift to Carroll. We took the chassis he helped create and put this fantastic body on it."
The Legend Begins
Shelby may have started late, but he was a winner from the beginning. Just two years into his driving career, Aston Martin's racing manager, John Wyer, recruited him to co-drive a DB3 at Sebring. Within months, the chicken farmer from Texas was bumping elbows and trading paint with the likes of Juan-Manuel Fangio, Phil Hill and Paul Frère. He won Europe's prestigious 24-hour endurance race at Le Mans in 1959, driving an Aston Martin DBR1 with Roy Salvadori.
Early in 1962 Shelby drove his second Ford-powered race car. It was the first mockup for the Cobra, Shelby's now-legendary marriage of a lightweight British roadster body with a small-block Ford V-8. By January 1963, he had homologated the car under the FIA's GT Group III class, and that month a Cobra won its first race, beating a field of Corvette Stingrays at Riverside, California.
In January 1965, Ford hired Shelby to lend his expertise to the GT40 campaign. Three cars had run the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, but none of them finished. Shelby began work on installing the more reliable 7-liter stock-car engine in what would be known later as the GT40 Mark II. It proved to be considerably faster than the Mark I, and, although 1965 was another unsuccessful year at Le Mans, GT40 had become, in just two seasons, a strong contender.
Ford and Shelby tested the GT40 Mark II extensively - both in the wind tunnel and on a special dynamometer that simulated a 48-hour run of the Le Mans circuit. At the start of the 1966 season, GT40 began a four-year domination of endurance racing.
While Ford and Shelby took on Ferrari at Le Mans, they fought Corvette at home. The first effort was the legendary Shelby Cobra, a Ford-powered and Shelby-engineered derivative of the AC Ace. Production of the vehicle, which had a one-ton weight advantage over the Corvette, began in June 1962 and continued through March 1967.
The Shelby Mustang
In August 1964, Ford asked Carroll Shelby to develop a street-legal, high-performance Mustang to compete against the Corvette in SCCA B-production road racing. Shelby-American, Carroll Shelby's Californian racing shop, completed its first Mustang GT350 by September.
The 1965 Shelby Mustang GT350 was a fastback production model with a functional scoop in its fiberglass hood and 306 horsepower from the 289-cubic-inch V-8 underneath - an increase of 35 horsepower over the stock Ford engine. Suspension upgrades included a larger front stabilizer bar, Koni shocks and rear traction bars and race-ready features, such as competition safety belts, a large oil-pressure gauge, tachometer and a trunk-mounted battery. It sold for $4,000 and was instantly recognizable by its Wimbledon White paint and blue GT350 side stripes along the rocker panels.
For 1966, the GT350 was offered in white, red, black, green and blue, and Hertz purchased nearly 1,000 special 1966 GT350H weekend "rent-a-racer" models. In the 1967 model year, the Shelby Mustangs sported unique fiberglass bodywork that extended the front end with an aggressive dual scoop and finished the trunk lid with an integrated spoiler.
But most important in 1967 was the new GT500, a big-block version with 355 horsepower. More than 2,000 of those 428-cubic-inch Mustangs were delivered in the first model year.
1968 was the first year the name "Cobra" was officially used on a Shelby Mustang. That year, a convertible body style became available. Although the Shelby Cobra GT350 was essentially unchanged, later GT500s were powered by the new "Cobra Jet" 428 engine and thus became the GT500KR, for King of the Road.
For 1969, the penultimate year of the Shelby Mustang, the engine choices included the optional 351 Ram Air engine, and the bodywork incorporated a total of nine scoops - five on the hood, one at the front of each fender and one on each quarter panel. In 1970, with sales slowing, the final Shelby Mustangs built for 1969 were updated to 1970 specifications and sold, ending the famed run.
Key Moments in the History of Ford and Carroll Shelby
January 1952: Carroll Shelby enters first race at the wheel of a Ford-powered hot rod.
February 1962: Shelby tests his first Ford-powered AC 260 Roadster - the car that would become the Shelby Cobra.
March 1962: Shelby-American begins operations in Venice, California.
June 1962: Cobra production begins.
August 1964: Ford asks Shelby to develop a high-performance Mustang derivative.
September 1964: First Shelby prototypes are built.
January 1965: The 1965 Shelby GT350 is introduced.
Ford hires Shelby American to oversee the GT40 program.
November 1965: Hertz begins buying GT350H versions for its "rent-a-racer" program.
June 1966: Ford GT40 Mark II wins Le Mans.
November 1966: First 1967 Shelby GT500s are delivered.
June 1967: Ford and Shelby American again win Le Mans.
November 1967: 1968 Shelby Mustang convertibles debut.
November 1968: 1969 model-year production begins.
September 1969: Shelby Mustang production ends.
February 1970: Ford and Shelby end their long-term racing agreement.
March 2001: Shelby is invited by Ford to consult on new GT40 concept for 2002 NAIAS
March 2002: Ford gives green-light to production of Ford GT based on the concept
April 2003: Ford invites Shelby to collaborate on a concept car that pays homage to the original Shelby Cobra.
January 2004: Ford Shelby Cobra steals the show at 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
January 2004: Ford asks Shelby to consult on a follow-up concept.
June 2004: Shelby announces plans to build a limited edition Shelby Ford Expedition.
August 2004: Ford unveils the Ford Shelby GR-1 concept at Pebble Beach.
8/13/04, 06:01 AM
#29
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Niiiiiiiiiiiice, here comes the Daytona Coupé again ! 
Seems that the Ford muscle car fans are up for a fantastic time. New mustang, Cobra concept, GT, GR-1, a Shelby Mustang maybe.... Are we back in the 60's ? Let's hope the fuelprice will adapt too 
Seems that the Ford muscle car fans are up for a fantastic time. New mustang, Cobra concept, GT, GR-1, a Shelby Mustang maybe.... Are we back in the 60's ? Let's hope the fuelprice will adapt too
8/13/04, 06:23 AM
#30
Team Mustang Source
Quote from TCC Article:
In 2002 Shelby and Ford made up, and the icon was brought to bear as Ford planned the GT supercar program. The success of that program has since led to even more cooperation, and Ford says that Shelby will have a hand in at least three or four different vehicle programs, starting with a high-performance version of the next-generation Mustang, which hits the streets next year. A Shelby-massaged Ford Expedition was announced this summer as well.
In 2002 Shelby and Ford made up, and the icon was brought to bear as Ford planned the GT supercar program. The success of that program has since led to even more cooperation, and Ford says that Shelby will have a hand in at least three or four different vehicle programs, starting with a high-performance version of the next-generation Mustang, which hits the streets next year. A Shelby-massaged Ford Expedition was announced this summer as well.
I can't wait for SEMA now.
8/13/04, 07:27 AM
#32
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I always thought the Daytona was the best racer Shelby ever built. It was the hottest looking also.
The coupe is one mean looking car. I am so happy to see Ford doing this. I just hope it helps sales.
B) B) B)
The coupe is one mean looking car. I am so happy to see Ford doing this. I just hope it helps sales.
B) B) B)
8/13/04, 07:37 AM
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Rumors are Ford wants to build a car to complete with the Viper in the $80-$90K price range. From the looks of those pictures, I have a feeling that car won't go that cheap if Ford Decides to build it.
8/13/04, 08:26 AM
#34
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Originally posted by Topnotch@August 13, 2004, 8:26 AM
Quote from TCC Article:
In 2002 Shelby and Ford made up, and the icon was brought to bear as Ford planned the GT supercar program. The success of that program has since led to even more cooperation, and Ford says that Shelby will have a hand in at least three or four different vehicle programs, starting with a high-performance version of the next-generation Mustang, which hits the streets next year. A Shelby-massaged Ford Expedition was announced this summer as well.
Quote from TCC Article:
In 2002 Shelby and Ford made up, and the icon was brought to bear as Ford planned the GT supercar program. The success of that program has since led to even more cooperation, and Ford says that Shelby will have a hand in at least three or four different vehicle programs, starting with a high-performance version of the next-generation Mustang, which hits the streets next year. A Shelby-massaged Ford Expedition was announced this summer as well.
But when? How much hp? And most importantly how much $$$?
8/13/04, 09:16 AM
#36
I wonder if this is the Mercury Messenger concept given a new life?
Or taken to a higher level of development?
Similar profile except for the "Daytona" style roof line and longer door of the GR-1
Anyways, it looks like a great car.
MESSENGER
GR-1
Or taken to a higher level of development?
Similar profile except for the "Daytona" style roof line and longer door of the GR-1
Anyways, it looks like a great car.
MESSENGER
GR-1
8/13/04, 10:40 AM
#38
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Well I have a serious gripe about the new GT, Cobra roadster, and Coupe. WEIGHT AND PROPORTIONING! Take a leson from Lotus, bring down the dimensions, build a smaller car with a larger interior, use lighter materials. I hope 3900lbs is wrong. Part of what made the originial Cobra great was its sub 3000lbs weight. Both the original 427 roadster and coupe weighed around 2500-2700lbs. I realize that these were tight cars to get in an and out of but they got to be built smaller. Also, on the original Daytona, the doors DO NOT cut into the roof! However, the styling is much much better. I just wish these protos were more BMW Z4 like in size. I think a supercharged V8 is a better idea than a V10. Did you know that the original Daytona that won the FIA GT only had a N/A hipo 289? Says a lot a about what saving weight can do.
8/13/04, 10:53 AM
#39
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Originally posted by StevenJ@August 13, 2004, 10:43 AM
Well I have a serious gripe about the new GT, Cobra roadster, and Coupe. WEIGHT AND PROPORTIONING! Take a leson from Lotus, bring down the dimensions, build a smaller car with a larger interior, use lighter materials. I hope 3900lbs is wrong. Part of what made the originial Cobra great was its sub 3000lbs weight. Both the original 427 roadster and coupe weighed around 2500-2700lbs. I realize that these were tight cars to get in an and out of but they got to be built smaller. Also, on the original Daytona, the doors DO NOT cut into the roof! However, the styling is much much better. I just wish these protos were more BMW Z4 like in size. I think a supercharged V8 is a better idea than a V10. Did you know that the original Daytona that won the FIA GT only had a N/A hipo 289? Says a lot a about what saving weight can do.
Well I have a serious gripe about the new GT, Cobra roadster, and Coupe. WEIGHT AND PROPORTIONING! Take a leson from Lotus, bring down the dimensions, build a smaller car with a larger interior, use lighter materials. I hope 3900lbs is wrong. Part of what made the originial Cobra great was its sub 3000lbs weight. Both the original 427 roadster and coupe weighed around 2500-2700lbs. I realize that these were tight cars to get in an and out of but they got to be built smaller. Also, on the original Daytona, the doors DO NOT cut into the roof! However, the styling is much much better. I just wish these protos were more BMW Z4 like in size. I think a supercharged V8 is a better idea than a V10. Did you know that the original Daytona that won the FIA GT only had a N/A hipo 289? Says a lot a about what saving weight can do.