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1999 Shelby Series One

The legendary Carroll Shelby designed a high-performance roadster dubbed the Shelby Series 1. It was produced by Shelby America based at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Clark County, Nevada. Production of the Shelby Series 1 began in 1998 and continued until 2005. A second generation of the Series 1, called the Series 2, was rumored to debut in 2006, and it is believed that around 500 examples were created.

The Shelby Series 1 was powered by a four-liter Oldsmobile L47 Aurora V8 engine capable of producing 320 horsepower. It has DOHC's and four-valves per cylinder. The transmission positioning is a unique design; it is located at the rear axle giving the SEries 1 a perfect 50/50 weight distribution. Zero-to-sixty took a mere 4.5 seconds and the quarter-mile was achieved in 12.8 seconds at 112 mph. The top speed is 185 mph. The car weighs just over 1200kg (2650 lbs) and measures 168.9 inches in length and 76.5-inches in width. The low weight is achieved by the use of exotic materials such as carbon-fiber composites and heat-treated aluminum.

Playboy magazine awarded Karen McDougal a special version of the Series 1 for being the 1998 Playmate of the Year. The car was finished in silver with the middle stripe removed.

In 1999 the Shelby Series 1 was featured in the Xbox game Forza Motorsports and Forza Motorsports 2. In 2003 a supercharged version of the Series 1 was featured in the Playstation 2 game Gran Turismo 4 and cost 184,792 credits.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: CSX 5036

Carroll Shelby, the famed race car driver, built limited edition high-performance automobiles such as the AC Shelby Cobra and the Shelby Mustangs produced in partnership with Ford Motor Company. He later developed performance cars for both General Motors and Chrysler.

At the age of 74, he built the Shelby Series I, and many consider this the crowning achievement. They featured an aluminum frame, carbon fiber body and a tuned Oldsmobile Aurora V-8 engine. Zero-to-sixty was achieved in just 4.4 seconds and could reach top speeds of 170 mph.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: 5CXSA1816XL000159

This Shelby Series 1 Convertible is one of 249 built and believed to have less than 1,000 miles. In 2013, the car was brought to Mecum's auction in Monterey where it received a high bid of $85,000 but was not enough to satisfy the vehicle's reserve. The car would leave the auction unsold.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: 5CXSA1817XL000123

This Series 1 example is production number 123 of 249 produced. It has just 900 original miles. The car has an all-aluminum frame and carbon fiber body. The car was designed by Carroll Shelby and produced by Shelby American. Power is from a 4-liter dual overhead cam 32 valve Aurora V8 engine delivering 320 horsepower. It reached 60 mph in just 4.4 seconds and has a top speed of 185 mph. The car has two-tone embroider bucket seats, retractable roof, air conditioning, 4-wheel disc brakes, power door locks, power mirrors and AM/FM/Cassette.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: 5CXSA1810XL000027

This Series 1 example is production number 27 of 249 produced and has just 2,140 original miles on the odometer.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: 5CXSA1815XL000041

The cars that Carroll Shelby built which elevated him and his company to legendary status as an automotive icon were all improvements to an existing design. Examples included the AC Ace (which became the Shelby Cobra) and the Ford Mustang (which were transformed into the Shelby GT350), and modifications of various Chrysler products such as the GLH. In the late 1990s, Carroll Shelby decided to build a sports car from scratch. This would be his first attempt to build a performance car from the ground up. The end result was a limited-production, performance Shelby sports roadster that offered acceleration, handling, and performance.

The example has a supercharger 4-liter Oldsmobile Aurora eight-cylinder engine that produces 550 horsepower and has a 6-speed manual transmission. It has a quarter-mile time of 11.35 seconds at 124 mph and a 0-60 mph time of just 3.2 seconds. The chassis was comprised of aluminum and clothed with a carbon fiber body. The design was courtesy of Mr. Shelby and was intended for both street and race use.

This car has all power options, air conditioning and an AM/FM/CD stereo.

249 examples of the Shelby Series 1 were built. 50 of them were given the supercharger engine. This car has just 1,450 miles from new.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: 5CXSA1816XL000064

The Shelby Series 1 was designed and built entirely with the guidance of Carroll Shelby. It was developed in the late 1990s as a modern successor to his legendary Cobra. The Series One was fitted with modern engineering and technology, exotic materials, and many performance options. It had a high-strength all-aluminum chassis, modern carbon fiber bodywork, and a Shelby-modified Oldsmobile 320-horsepower twin-cam L47 V-8 engine. They had power steering, power disc brakes, factory air conditioning, a Monsoon sound system, a folding soft-top, and power side windows.

Zero-to-sixty took just 4.4 seconds and had a top speed of 170 mph. In total, just 249 examples of the Series 1 models were built.

This car was originally delivered to Don Molen, later passing to Mr. Jewel, from whom it was bought back by Carroll Shelby in 2005. The car has been driven just 2637 miles.

The car is finished in Centennial Silver and Bright Blue Metallic exterior and three-piece forged aluminum Carroll Shelby wheels.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: 5CXSA1811XL000019

This Shelby Series 1 is one of just 249 examples built and has just 5 miles on the odometer. The car is finished in PPG Centennial Silver with Orange stripes. The car rides on Shelby 5-spoke wheels, has a leather interior with Carroll Shelby signature embroidered power seats, power windows and locks, air conditioning and factory sound system. There are dual exhaust, 4-wheel power disc brakes, an aluminum chassis, and powered by an Oldsmobile 4-liter DOHC V8 engine offering 320 horsepower. The engine is mounted completely behind the front axle line, offering the ideal 49/51 front-to-weight distribution. The V8 drives the rear-mounted ZF 6-speed transaxle through a carbon fiber torque tube that helps reduce the vehicle's overall weight. The entire drivetrain is insulated from the frame with special rubber mounts.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: 5CXSA1817XL000008

This Shelby Series 1 has just 4 miles on its odometer.

by Dan Vaughan

Roadster
Chassis number: 5CXSA1818XL000017

Carroll Shelby created the most significant American sports car in existence, and the Shelby Series 1 has, in turn, been described as the most significant car Carroll Shelby ever produced. Unlike any other car conceived by the man who was even larger than his legend, the Series 1 was the one car that Shelby designed and engineered from the ground up, making it what 'Motor Trend' described as 'the very first machine that's pure Shelby from top to bottom, inside and out.' Each of the mere 249 cars offered in the Series 1's singular model year, 1999, was hand-built on an aluminum frame with a carbon-fibre composite body and race-derived suspension. The Oldsmobile V8 powertrain featured dual overhead cams, sequential fuel injection and a high-flow dual exhaust.

This car is the 16th S1 built, and is one of the few examples equipped with the $25,000 optional supercharger, which helps the car to produce 518 horsepower and catapults it to a top speed of over 180 mph. The car also features the rare interior carbon-fibre option, and its dashboard was signed by Carroll Shelby himself. The Series 1 is, simply put, the perfect combination of stunning design, incredible power and performance, and legendary pedigree.