The Shelby name is associated with some of the most desirable American cars ever made, classics like the GT40, and Cobra, its modern recreations, and especially the Shelby GT500. However, there’s a lot more than that, stuff that’s not often mentioned.
At the peak of the Viper era, Ford unveiled the Shelby Cobra Concept, a modern interpretation of an older vehicle. It had the classic 2-seat roadster layout inspired by the original AC Cars but was built with modern materials and packed the mother of Viper-slaying engines, a 6.4-liter V10.
At roughly the same time, we had the Ford Shelby GR-1, another high-performance concept car, presented at the 2004 Pebble Beach event and the 2005 Detroit Auto Show. This time, the concept looked like the Daytona coupes of the 1960s. With so many unproduced concept cars, maybe we really are lucky to have the GT supercar around.
Not many people remember this one, but in 1999, Shelby introduced the Series 1, of which only 249 were supposed to be made. They cost $225,000 and frankly, I’d much rather have a Cobra reproduction. But the point is that this historic name and brand shouldn’t just be limited to Cobras and go-fast Mustangs.
After all, when Carroll was asked what his favorite car was he’d always say “The next one.” I probably didn’t need to say all that as an introduction to an unofficial concept. But lots of people are potentially going to be upset by the association of the Shelby name and this rendering by Antonio Paglia.
The artist’s vision, believe it or not, is to have a Shelby sports car in the 1980s era of design, but with an electric powertrain. That kind of combination of classic American and Tesla rival is only now coming into existence with things like the Hummer and the next-gen Challenger.
Speaking of which, if you’re talking about Shelby cars from the 1980s, you’re going straight into the dark ages with things like the 1985 Dodge Shelby Charger. The fifth-gen L-body Charger was based on the subcompact, front-wheel-drive Dodge Omni. The Shelby-tuned version shorter springs, unique wheels, performance tires, bigger brakes, and a modded engine.
But don’t get your hopes too high, as we’re talking about a 2.2-liter with 107 hp that could do the quarter mile in 16.8 seconds at 82 mph. By comparison, this concept car seems like it would give the Ferrari Testarossa a run for its money.
It’s got just enough cheese grater design language, including for the headlights. And the window louvers sell the retro vibes, even though I don’t think anybody could make a car like this in the 1980s.
