Dave Despain on Assignment - The Shelby Legend

[PDHse]

Hi all, is there anywhere on the net i can watch this. I live in the U.K.

[CobraEd]

The thing that made Shelby and the Cobra famous and put them on the map was the 427 Cobra. Not all the race stuff.

Actual car race enthusiasts who care about the nuances and subtleties of road racing back in the 50's and 60's are about .00001% of the general population. Road racing aside, the 427 Cobra was/is the baddest car on the planet. It is an automotive legend and an American automotive icon of power and excess.

Every single gearhead in America (about 85% of the population) knows what a Shelby Cobra is because of the mystique and raw brutal power of the 427 Cobra.

THAT is what the Shelby Cobra is all about and what people want to hear about.


.

[Ralphy]

Originally Posted by PDHse

Hi all, is there anywhere on the net i can watch this. I live in the U.K.

I know jack about recording in todays tech. However someone here may be able to burn you a copy. Compatibility of formats would need to be checked.

[PDHse]

That would be cool, my player seems to play most things. I ,ve had stuff ran off for me before from the States. I can offer a $10.00 bill for postage to anyone who can copy the show to dvd for me please. PM me.

[cobra25]

I loved it!
Great pictures of the old days and scenes from the Headquarters today.
I was very pleased to hear Ken Miles get his due credit.
I thought Dave did a great job with the story line.
Shelby is a great promoter/salesman and former racecar driver...nothing more. When you are a customer, you are his best friend. When you are a competitor, not so much.

[*13*]

The only complaint I have is that there isn't enough time in an hour to cover the topic. It's too bad the can't enlist HBO, or similar, to put together a well laid out, all encompassing Series.

[TN Shelby Cobra]

Funny thing we can't record it on our EPBFI supplied ditial recorder! I guess old shel is going to sell the recording someday! Probably needs the money!

[HealeyRick]

I enjoyed it as well. Great seeing those period clips. Shel's memory must be slipping a bit when he claims never to have said "Ferrari's ass is mine". Must have forgotten the "NYFAIM" on the Cobras:



Nevertheless, the late David E. Davis, Jr. claimed to have witnessed the statement:

Carroll Shelby Wins Le Mans! - American Driver - Automobile Magazine

[Steve Cassani]

I was gratified the piece mentioned two facts that are rarely included in a telling of the legend: Alan Mann directed the Cobra effort in 1965, winning the World Sports Car Championship; John Wyer won Le Man in 1968 and 1969, using the 5-litre Ford GT40 the company had abandoned as no longer suitable to be raced in a corporate campaign.

[Historybuff]

I think in Leo Levine's book The Dust and the Glory something to the
same effect is said. There were a lot of people in the room, so it's difficult a half century or so later to pretend you didn't say it.

Also nobody has commented on Shelby saying that someone was trying to appoint him to tell Henry Ford II that they had spent close to $200 million on racing. In all the books of the time, the amount mentioned on the GT racing effort at LeMans was more like $12 million to $16 million. I think Shelby meant to say "what would be the equivilant today of $200 million" but didn't have enough time to say it or figured the reporter would put it in context.

Also when the reporter drove up in the yellow small block Cobra he acted like it was an authentic Cobra but methinks I've seen that yellow factory owned demonstrator before and the serial number is not in the CSX2000 range. If you can fool a reporter into saying he's in a real Cobra, it makes you wonder what else he didn't fact-check on...

..that being said, I liked the integration of the old pictures, and thought the tribute to Ken Miles was good, but really the 3 abreast finish at LeMans '66 has been told too many times, how important is it really, when Ford accomplished their goal of winning the race, they weren't spending $13 million to make sure one driver won 3 big races in a single year.

[*13*]

I think we've all seen the yellow car & know it's not original. I think it's a matter of how you interpret it, & what you know to begin with. Maybe after the old guy dies, I hope that's not any time soon, someone will stand up with some real money & give his life justice by doing a quality full length film or in depth series. It's about American history as much as it is about Carroll Shelby.

[Buzz]

The whole story would make quite a story. I don't think motorsports has seen anyone else quite like Shelby in terms of accomplishments, intrigue, name recognition, profile and sheer enduring longevity. Hell of a man no matter what angle you look at him from.