GT40: FORD THAT BEAT FERRARI

Posted on March 4, 2020March 4, 2020 by MartynL

Now in its third and updated edition with almost 500 pages, more than 850 photos and weighing in at over five pounds, this must-have book is actually a research library dedicated to the road racing history of GT40: FORD THAT BEAT FERRARI. When John Allen and Gordon Jones authored the first edition in 1985, Ford GT40 racecars and road models and Mark III variants were just expensive vintage cars, not platinum-priced collectibles as they are today. With GT40s trending thanks to the film Ford v Fer...

ROAD & TRACK: SHELBY GT350 MUSTANG

Posted on February 15, 2020February 15, 2020 by MartynL

Intrepid road-tester Dan Scanlan blogs about this Road & Track Shelby GT350 Mustang that’s still racing after all these years! They weren’t supposed to duel on track – not really. And Darek Stennes’ real '65 Shelby GT350 didn’t race at Daytona International Speedway during what’s known as the Rolex Legends. But watch the car as it roars on track during the vintage high-speed demonstration laps before the Rolex 24 at Daytona recently, https://bit.ly/2uB6PBn and there’s serious Shelby shenanig...

LAST SHELBY COBRA: DRIVING MISS DAISY!

Posted on November 19, 2019November 19, 2019 by MartynL

Project Daisy was the thundering 600-horsepower V10-engined Shelby Cobra Concept intended to succeed the original Ford GT. It never happened. But with a new book about the car just hitting the bookshelves, CGC's Road Test Editor Howard Walker gets behind the wheel of this forgotten Cobra for an exclusive drive. You can feel the ghost of Ol’ Shel still swirling around the cockpit. Listen closely and you might just hear his belly laughs at hearing the tortured scream of fricasseeing rubber after...

BOOK REVIEW: FORD VERSUS FERRARI

Posted on November 18, 2019November 18, 2019 by MartynL

The latest book to deal with the battle for supremacy between David and Goliath at Le Mans breaks cover as FORD v FERRARI opens in theaters both here and in Europe. They say timing is everything. And, quite often it is. With Ford challenging and unseating the undisputed King (Ferrari) of endurance sports car racing trending, and the blockbuster film opening, the timing for John Starkey’s latest book – BOOK REVIEW: FORD VERSUS FERRARI, The battle for supremacy at Le Mans 1966 – couldn’t have been...

MOVIE CARS: FORD V. FERRARI.

Posted on November 13, 2019November 13, 2019 by MartynL

Ford GT40s and Shelby Cobras identical to those used in the making of the film are available from Le Mans Coupes Ltd. The story of Ford versus Ferrari is as compelling as any in motor racing history, and the much anticipated 20th Century Fox movie – FORD V. FERRARI - immortalizing it, and starring Matt Damon and Christian Bale, hits UK screens this Friday (November 15). Aptly entitled Le Mans ‘66 it reputedly involved no less than 423 vehicles of multiple makes and origins, but the key cars, GT4...

COBRA IN A BIRDCAGE!

Posted on November 9, 2019November 9, 2019 by MartynL

Three American racing legends – Carroll Shelby, Briggs Cunningham and Al Momo – joined forces in 1963, resulting in an exotic Maserati sports racer powered by Ford. Transplanting American V8 engines into imported sports racers gained popularity in the early-mid 1960s. American V8s were often inexpensive, simple to modify and maintain, and in many cases lighter than imports. Most importantly, they produced maximum horsepower and torque at considerably lower and more useable rpm for improved perfo...

’69 SHELBY GT500: PROTOTYPE CONVERTIBLE!

Posted on January 22, 2019 by MartynL

Rare Shelby pre-production engineering and marketing GT500, the only one (1969-1970) painted Raven Black, is 428 Cobra Jet powered. And it’s been found, documented and restored. As in any endeavor, one’s network of people is invaluable. This story of the finding, vetting, researching and revitalizing of a historic car proves that case once again – and that VIN 9F03Q1022336 is a Shelby Automotive pre-production (prototype) engineering and marketing development car. It is one of just four Shelbys...

BOOK REVIEW: THE ROAD TO MODENA!

Posted on August 14, 2018 by MartynL

Peter Brock takes us on a trip to Italy, via The Road to Modena, to tell the story of the stillborn Shelby-De Tomaso P70 Can-Am racecar he designed and the De Tomaso Sport 5000 variant he didn’t! Along the way, he relives his life and and adventures working at Shelby American. Of all of Carroll Shelby’s projects during the 1960s-1970s, the P70 Shelby-De Tomaso Can-Am racecar (at one point referenced a Ghia-De Tomaso Sport 5 Liter) is the one that little has been written about. Peter Brock r...

DAYTONA COBRA COUPE: SUDDENLY IT’S 1965!

Posted on June 26, 2018 by MartynL

The first of six laser-perfect recreations of designer Peter Brock’s Le Mans winning Daytona Cobra Coupe – CSX2299 – broke cover on June 15 at the Nurburgring in Germany. It carries VIN # PBX 2299-01. Suddenly it’s 1965. Time limitations permitted construction of just six of the famed Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupes, built to challenge Ferrari, Jaguar, Aston-Martin and Ford’s GT40s for the World’s FIA GT Championship in 1964 and 1965. Collectively, the six uniquely designed racers, driven by some o...

BOOK REVIEW: FORD TOTAL PERFORMANCE!

Posted on August 12, 2017 by MartynL

Everything you’ve always wanted to know about Ford’s legendary high-performance street and race cars and the people who built and raced them. MEDIA REVIEWS "Real history is written best by the people who actually experienced it, and in the case of his hugely anticipated book, Marty Schorr, right, is the author who was there for all of it. This is not just a collection of old photos. The text springs forth with verve and sharp analysis, the kind of story that can only be written by so...