THE SNAKE & THE STALLION | HOW TEXAN CARROLL SHELBY KICKED FERRARI'S...

When Carroll Shelby decided to leave auto racing in 1960 due to a hereditary and life-threatening heart condition– he never looked back. Shelby dominated the racing circuit in the 50s, and wasn’t done yet. Knowing that racing was longer an option, he fixed his squinty gaze at becoming a legend under the hood, as well as behind the wheel. Shelby was going to build his own cars, and made it his personal mission to knock Enzo Ferrari off his high horse– who’s imperious, dictator style flat-out rubbed the tough Texan the wrong way. Ford knew they would also benefit greatly from an alliance with Shelby, as they were regularly getting their clock cleaned on the racetrack, and had no answer for Chevrolet’s Corvette in the showroom wars either. Ford soon became part of the rivalry with Enzo, as two unsuccessful buyout attempts of Ferrari during the 60s dealt a humiliating blow to Henry Ford II, and the only place left to settle it was on the racetrack.

Carroll Shelby is shown below with the three Cobra roadsters that would win the 1963 USRRC Manufacturer’s Championship. Venice, California, 1963.

Carroll Shelby poses with his new 1964 production Cobra and his new Cobra race car-- Venice, California. "It's a massive motor in a tiny, lightweight car." --Shelby explaining in a nutshell, the secret to the Cobra's performance.

The AC Cobra started out as a Ford small block 260 cubic inch V-8 (later 289) wrapped in a tight & light handbuilt British sportscar. It quickly morphed into a beast with a 7.0L 427 aluminum block under the hood, creating an incredible power-to-weight ratio that was just plain sick. Some silly fans actually prefer the earlier, more dainty Cobras-- feeling that the flared bodies, fat tires and aggressive stance of the later 427's comes across visually as too brutish and crass. Well sorry folks, I'm all about the 427 Cobra. An AC Cobra coupe's top speed was clocked at 185 mph on the M1 raceway back in 1964-- an impressive feat for sure, and years before the super-exotics.

Carroll Shelby (left) with Steve McQueen (right) standing behind the AC Cobra Shelby lent to the car nut and racing enthusiast McQueen.

The original Shelby Cobra was far from perfect– lets just say there were issues with stuffing an engine that massive in a chassis so small. So four Santa Monica hot-rodders tore the cars apart and rebuilt them to withstand the strain and demands from the ground up– all under the watchful eye of Shelby in his own workshop. Ford, Shelby and his team of craftsmen succeeded in creating a car that became all at once– the most loved, feared and copied sportscar in all of American auto history.

Steve McQueen behind the wheel of Shelby's AC Cobra.

Shelby looks on as his crack squad of hot-rodders obsess over every detail as one of the first Cobras is prepped at the first Dean Moon Shop-- Santa Fe Springs, California in February of 1962.

First Shelby Cobra being built at Dean Moon's shop in Santa Fe Springs, California.

A fleet of Shelby Cobra coupes being assembled and prepped for racing duty.

"I'm not going to take this defeatist attitude and listen to all this crap any more from all these people who have nothing except doomsday to predict." --Carroll Shelby

"Next year, Ferrari's ass is mine!" --Carroll Shelby after losing to Ferrari in '64, and in '65 it would be just as Shelby predicted. Don't mess with Texas, baby.

Carroll Shelby at the wheel of a new Cobra production car-- Venice, California, 1963. He loved to stick $100 bills to the inside of the windscreen and challenge the potential customer, sitting in the passenger seat, to grab the bill before the Cobra hit 100 mph.

FAST WOMEN IN HISTORY PT. II | AUTO RACING'S TOUGH FEMALE PIONEERS

The Canadian-born, Kay Petre was an early motor racing star at the legendary Brooklands track. The exploits of this 4′10″ speedqueen made big news back in her day. Born Kathleen Coad Defries in 1903, she moved to England in 1930, following her marriage to Englishman Henry Petre. Henry was a keen flier who regularly took off from the Brooklands Airfield– it was here that Kay first became interested in motor racing. She had always been a skilled and competitive sportswoman back at home, especially in ice-skating. Henry bought Kay her first car for her birthday, a Wolseley Hornet Daytona Special. Soon after her racing career began, with a third and a second in her first two races. In 1933, Kay purchased her first “proper” racing car, a 2-litre Bugatti. She used it to good effect in the regular handicap races at Brooklands, quickly adjusting to the handling and the increased speed.

One of the most famous images of Kay is her seated in the big 1924 Delage, a 10.5 litre V12-engined ex-John Cobb Land Speed Record car she had been racing. In order to reach the car’s pedals, she had them rigged with large wooden blocks. Petre threw down the gauntlet to her French rival on 26th October 1934, clocking 129.58 mph on a flying lap. The record stood until the August of 1935, when Gwenda challenged again, setting a new benchmark marginally faster. Not to be outdone, Kay jumped straight in the Delage and beat the record the same day, lapping at an average of 134.75 mph. This was the first time that a female driver had earned the Brooklands badge for a lap at 130 mph or over. Gwenda, driving her Derby-Miller special, joined that exclusive club three days later, hitting 135.95 mph. Kay admitted defeat graciously and went back to her own racing.

Sadly, in 1937 Kay’s circuit racing career came to a dramatic end. During practice for the Brooklands 500 Miles, she was involved in a horrible accident which she was lucky to survive. Reg Parnell stalled above her on the banking, slid down and hit her Austin Seven, rolling it down the banking and crushing Kay underneath it. She suffered severe head injuries and was lucky to survive. After being in a coma for a few days and undergoing surgery to her head and face, she eventually made a good recovery, the only permanent damage being some paralysis of one side of her face.

After her recovery, Kay made one final appearance at Brooklands in 1938, driving the White Riley. Whether it was an actual race, public practice or merely some parade laps is unclear. She was cheered enthusiastically by the crowds but had lost her nerve and did not race there again. At this time, she was campaigning for Reg Parnell to have his racing licence returned. The authorities blamed him for the accident and revoked it, although Kay herself never held him responsible and eventually he was allowed back behind the wheel. Her views were “If you race fast cars, one of the risks you take is that one day you might cop it!”

After retiring from circuit racing, she could not get the motorsport bug out of her system and took up rallying, first as a navigator for the Singer team but later driving for Austin again, sometimes in a Grasshopper. She competed at home and in Europe, with the Alpine Rally being her favorite. One of her co-drivers was the French race Anne-Cecile Rose-Itier, who partnered her for the Monte Carlo Rally. It was at this time she began her second career as a motoring journalist, which she continued after the war. Much later, she was employed by Austin as part of its design team, selecting colours for the interior of the Mini, amongst other models.