America's Greatest Living Car Designer

Auto legend Carroll Shelby talks about Mustangs past and present, what ails Detroit, his favorite American cars, racing, and Texas

by Matt Vella

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In the American auto industry, few things stay golden very long. Boom times go bust, and turnarounds become downturns. But if there’s one name that has managed to maintain positive buzz and consistently represent driving excitement, it’s Carroll Shelby.

Shelby first came to prominence in the late 1950s and early 1960s as a race-winning, maverick tuner. He was an upset victor at Le Mans in 1959. The 260/289 Cobra, which he designed and built, was the fastest car on earth in the mid-1960s. And, with his help, Ford turned the original Mustang into an automotive legend.

Since then, Shelby has worked with all of the Detroit Three, having helped create some of the most recognizable cars of the last 50 years, from Ford’s GT and Mustang revival to the Dodge Viper and Charger models. With his help, Ford has remade the Mustang into one of its most popular sellers.

Shelby, now 83, is launching a line of performance parts and opening a custom modification center. Enthusiastic fans will be able to send their newly purchased Shelby GT500s to be souped up and modified to specification. BusinessWeek.com’s Matt Vella spoke with Shelby from the annual Specialty Equipment Market Assn. (SEMA) aftermarket show in Las Vegas, Nev.

You’ve been at the heart of the American automotive industry in one way or another since the 1960s. In this time of considerable upheaval for each of the big three, what do you think of the U.S. automakers’ situation?

The companies are working on the three big problems. The foreign companies that come over here don’t have unions like ours, they don’t have health care on the order that American companies have, and they don’t have pensions.

I don’t know exactly where it will end up. I feel sure that the American companies are going to survive. But it’s a tough fight right now. The playing field is a little uneven. But for more than that, you’ll have to call Detroit.

Here you are at SEMA, what do you make of the current trend to customize, personalize, and "pimp" our rides?

There are probably 100,000 people here, and not any two of them would agree on what a car should be. And yet, every one of them wants to bring their car up to something that they dream of, what a car should be to them. They want to individualize it so when they drive that car down the road, it’s obvious that somebody cares about it. They want to be identified with that car. I think it’s great and those are the people we want to reach and the people we want to work with.

Looking back at the repeated success of Mustang—from the originals in the 1960s to this most recent revival—why do you think American consumers have fallen love with the car again and again?

I think the main reason that they have is because it’s been around for 40 years now. We’re here at SEMA and more people manufacture pieces and parts and modifications for the Mustang than any car on earth. I think that explains why it is so popular, because so many of the modders, so many of the tuners, so many of the parts manufacturers, well, they build for Mustang.

What place do you think the new GT500 would hold in Mustang history?

Well, I can’t tell you for sure. But I’ve never heard of a car that stickers for $42,000 and is bringing $45,000 over list price. My heritage has always been affordable performance. That’s what I like to think I stand for. And when you take a $40,000 car and it’s selling for $90,000—I don’t [know] whether that means we underpriced it or that, historically, it’s a very significant car.

What were your feelings seeing the Ford GT supercar cease production this fall?

I’ve always said that when you build a car that’s a halo car like that, that you shouldn’t keep on building it. I begged Dodge not to keep on building the Viper and they’ve built it and built until nobody wants it anymore.