The racing world lost a legendary car builder just a few weeks ago when Carroll Shelby passed away. Yet in a certain sense, the timing of Shelby’s passing was perfect. His name has become synonymous once again with high-performance Mustangs, and between his own Shelby 1000 and the 2013 GT500, we can say with assurance that Shelby went out at the top of his game.
Ford Racing just released this video last week of Carroll Shelby attending a durability testing session for the then-unreleased 2013 GT500. This is likely one of the last videos of a living Shelby in existence…and it confirms everything we already knew about the legend.
This video was made between October 17th and 19th of 2011, about a month before the official reveal of the 662 horsepower 2013 Shelby GT500. Ford engineers took the 2013 GT500 to Sebring International Raceway for some extreme durability testing to ensure that the 662 horsepower monster wouldn’t break under duress. And who better to oversee the testing than the man whose name is on the car?
Carroll Shelby helped develop the car from start to finish, and he was on hand to oversee the testing. Shelby was in a sense a “spiritual leader” for the 2013 Shelby, helping guide the engineering team into building what has become the best, most powerful Mustang ever conceived. His inspiration and assurances helped push the envelope one last time before his passing.
Mr. Shelby, you will be missed.