Summary

• Ford and Carroll Shelby won three more 24 Hours of Le Mans titles after 1966.
• Shelby worked with Dodge in the 1980s after parting ways with Ford.
• Shelby died in 2012 at the age of 89.

The award-winning film Ford v Ferrari chronicles the true story of a team of automotive designers, including Shelby Carroll, hired by Henry Ford II to create a race car that could beat the Italian racing team, Scuderia Ferrari, in the mid-1960s. The 2019 biographical sports drama, directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller, stars Matt Damon as Carroll, a famous automotive designer and former race car driver. Carroll raced professionally for eight years (1952 to 1960) before he retired due to health problems, but he wasn't about to give up on racing altogether.

Ford v Ferrari is available to stream on Hulu, fuboTV, and Sling TV.

Ford v Ferrari begins with Ford tasking Carroll and his team to design a car that could defeat Ferrari's racing team at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, given that the Italian team had previously dominated the race. Carroll, who had won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959, recruited Ken Miles (played by Christian Bale in Ford v Ferrari) to drive the newly designed Ford GT40 Mk II. Ultimately, Ford and Shelby won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans (with Bruce McLaren, not with Miles, who came in second), which ended in a three-car photo finish.

Shelby & Ford's GT40 Car Won 3 More Le Mans Titles After 1966

Bruce McLaren Won First Place & Ken Miles Earned Second At Le Mans In 1966

As depicted at the end of Ford v Ferrari, Ken Miles tragically died a couple of months after the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans when he was test-driving the Ford J-car at Riverside International Raceway in California. While racing, the car unexpectedly flipped and crashed, ejecting Miles, who died on impact. Despite the tragedy, Carroll Shelby continued designing cars with Ford (after mourning his friend, of course) and attempted to fix what was wrong with their previous models.

Ken Miles was posthumously inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2001, 38 years after his death.

Following Shelby and Ford's win at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, they went on to dominate the race for the next three years with the Ford GT40. At the 1967 24 Hours of Le Mans, drivers Dan Gurney and A.J. Foyt won for the team, while Pedro Rodriguez and Lucien Bianchi achieved first place with the Ford GT40 in 1968 and Jacky Ickx and Jackie Oliver came out on top in 1969. So, Ford v Ferrari left out these wins from the true story and only focused on the Ford GT40's first triumph in 1966.

Carroll Shelby Left Ford To Work For Dodge

Shelby Began Working For Dodge In The 1980s

According to Shelby, Carroll Shelby had a working relationship with Ford for around five years (from 1965 to 1970) before he parted ways with the automobile manufacturer. He had accomplished a lot with Ford during that time, and Shelby seemingly wanted his life to slow down, so, he (briefly) retired. For eleven years, Shelby enjoyed his time away from the automobile business by living in Africa for nine months out of the year and continued pursuing his love of chili (he founded the Terlingua International Chili Championship in Texas). But by the 1980s, Shelby was ready for a comeback.

Shelby continued designing cars for Ford in the 2000s, including the Ford Shelby GR-1, Ford Shelby GT500, Mustang Shelby GT-H, Ford Mustang Shelby GT-H, and more.

Even though the car movie Ford v Ferrari focused on Shelby's time with Ford, the reality is that the designer also worked with Dodge when he came out of his retirement. Lee Iacocca, played by Jon Bernthal in the 2019 film, had become the CEO of the Chrysler Corporation, and in 1982, Iacocca hired Shelby to build performance cars for Dodge. The vehicles Shelby designed for Dodge from 1982 to 1989 were the 1983-1987 Dodge Shelby Chargers, the Dodge Omni GLH, and the Dodge Viper RT/10.

Carroll Shelby Reunited With Ford In The 2000s

Shelby's New Ford Concepts Began Popping Up In 2004

After parting ways with Dodge in the late 1980s, Carroll Shelby got a heart transplant and married Helena Dahl in 1990. In the 1990s and early 2000s, Shelby mostly focused on designing cars through Shelby American, Inc., like the Cobra model. However, in 2002, Shelby resumed his working relationship with Ford when the company hired him as a consultant. By 2004, the Ford Shelby Cobra Concept was on display at numerous auto shows.

Carroll Shelby was elected into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1992.

Shelby continued designing cars for Ford in the 2000s, including the Ford Shelby GR-1, Ford Shelby GT500, Mustang Shelby GT-H, Ford Mustang Shelby GT-H, and more. But by the late 2000s, Shelby was in his early 80s, so he began to step away from the automobile business once again and focus on the Carroll Shelby Foundation. Ultimately, Shelby had a long and successful career following the events of the auto racing movie Ford v Ferrari.

Carroll Shelby's Legacy As A Driver & Constructor

Shelby Is A Legend In The Automobile Industry

Given the number of cars that Carroll Shelby designed for Ford, Dodge, and more throughout his long and industrious career, he is undoubtedly one of the most influential automobile designers ever, and that is how many remember him. Despite having the ability to retire practically whenever he wanted after he helped Ford win the 24 Hours of Le Mans for four years in a row in the 1960s, Shelby continued doing what he loved the most — designing cars. His poor health also gave him an out from the automobile and racing business, but Shelby persevered.

Shelby's influence as a constructor on the automobile industry is unmatched, as his designs have gone on to inspire several others.

As a race car driver, Shelby's biggest accomplishment was winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959. Of course, he won other races, but the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France is the most prestigious. Even though he raced for eight years, Shelby's pursuits after he retired from the sport are what he is most remembered for. Shelby's influence as a constructor on the automobile industry is unmatched, as his designs have gone on to inspire several others.

Carroll Shelby Passed Away In 2012

Shelby Died At The Age Of 89

Sadly, Matt Damon didn't meet the man he was portraying on the set of Ford v Ferrari as Carroll Shelby died on May 10, 2012, at a hospital in Dallas, Texas. Shelby, who was 89 years old at the time of his death, passed away from complications from pneumonia. Nevertheless, Shelby's legacy lives on, not only through the release of Ford v Ferrari but also in the world of racing and automobile design.

Ford v Ferrari was nominated for four Oscars in 2020 and won two — Best Sound Editing and Best Film Editing.

Source: Shelby