Shelby: The Man and His Mustangs Alabama

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The Man: On the Move

He's an icon and an enigma, the father of the Shelby Cobra and modified Mustangs of the past. A true living legend and, yet, at an age when many icons and inventors are cruising the golf links and catching the sun's rays from a retirement community, Carroll Shelby is cruising the fast-lane of niche vehicle development and catching the attention of auto enthusiasts. Shelby most recently helped Ford create a distinctive 325 horsepower version of the Mustang GT, the GT-H, a move that recalls the 1,000 special-edition, souped-up Ford-modified Mustangs of the 60's that were available through Hertz four decades ago in what came to be known as the 'Rent-A-Racer' program..

The Car: 2007 Ford Mustang Shelby GT-H

The special edition 1966 Rent-a-Racer model rented for $17 a day and 17 cents a mile. Today, they are among the most prized cars from the muscle car era, retailing at auction for as high as $120,000. It is expected that the new versions will rent for more than $100 a day and are also destined to become collector's editions. The new Shelby GT-H Mustangs will have a production run of 500 and are available now at airport Hertz rental locations in 17 major U.S. cities and Hawaii. Painted black with gold racing stripes, the newest 'Stangs have a Shelby Automobiles performance hood, and exterior styling enhancements that include a special front fascia and side scoops, unique emblems, and a numbered dash badge with Carroll Shelby's signature.

The Car: 2007 Ford Shelby Cobra GT500

On sale this summer, expect the 2007 Ford Shelby GT500 to sticker at around $42,000 for the coupe, and $46,000 for the convertible. And good luck to you, kind sir, in trying to get that price, for a car that makes 450-horsepower and 450 lb.-ft of torque from a supercharged 5.4-liter V8. With its rich muscle car heritage and updated styling cues, the Shelby Cobra GT500 takes its rightful place among the other marvelous machines to come out of the Shelby/Ford alliance. Mustang fans take note: despite all its performance upgrades, the Shelby Cobra GT500 still has the solid rear axle, though - so burnouts and great drag times should be easy to accomplish.

The Man: Take One for the Team

Shelby developed the Mustang GT-H with Hau Tai Tang, Ford's Special Vehicle Team (SVT) director, chief engineer of the new Mustang and the director of the Ford Shelby Cobra GT 500 project. Vietnamese-born Hau Tai Tang grew up poor, and dreamed that one day he would be able to own a Mustang. "Hau Tai Tang has good ideas -- and is the man who put the Tang in Mustang," quipped Shelby, who also grew up poor, in east Texas. "My father was a rural mail carrier. At three years old, I used to stand on the running boards and tell him to go faster! I used mules to pick cotton at 6, waited tables and flipped hamburgers in my teens, so I'm really compassionate for the worker," said Shelby.