By William Edgar The Real Shelby -.- . - --..-- -=- -7 struct Shelby's persona for cinema audi- Turismo class, which pits Shelby Daytona THE CARROLL SHELBY STORY ences, Shelby himself here is a treat to Coupes against Ferrari 250 GTOs in a behold, giving us, on our home screens, more fulfilling way than seen in The 24 the full-scale, teasy-testy man I knew for Hour War. Not to say there aren't reused 56 of his 89 years. images and commentary from the latter Carroll's stringent rural Texas boy- in this more recent documentary; by , hood, lively teen scene, and time spent story's necessity, there are. But the famil- piloting Army Air Corps planes are iar footage and echoed words applied in engrossingly rendered. Then there's his Shelby American serve seamlessly, prof- early racing-driver's climb up the ladder itably, in detailing Shel's true life. from scrappy MG to squeamish Nard, In one of this documentary's myriad serious Maserati, and, eventually, spectac- instances of the Texan's on-camera and ular Ferrari. Our appetite for that beloved voice-over drawling, growling, some- marque gets amply fed by episodes of this times mirthhl remarks-Shelby's illustri- 1eggyTexan in chicken-farmer bib overalls ous style-he decrees, "The best and jockeying Maranello-bred stallions. most important thing in life [id believe Shelby's time behind the wheel is in what you want and go do that, and soon cut short; there's a developing prob- don't let anybody sidetrack you." lem with his heart. Yet in 1959, the ris- (The aural lure to sidetrack ourselves Shelby American ing "sport-car" star-nitroglycerin pills and talk like She1 is all but irresistible. Try Distributed by Chassy Media tucked under his tongue during races- this one yourself: "I don't give a shit about Released November 19,2019 takes on Le Mans, winning the 24-hour the Tour de France." In the film, it's clas- Available at chasymedia.com and French classic outright with co-driver sic Carroll, swearing that only Daytona, vcnious streaming services Roy Salvadori in an Aston Martin. Sebring, and Le Mans count for his zeal- Despite such remarkable career roots ous goal of ultimate victory over Enzo.) THREE years after their hailed docu- and 1950s' fame, there's more to come, The endearing thing about Shelby- mentary, The 24 Hour War, recounted starting with the Cobra then moving captured here in a range from complaint the mid-1960s Ford-Ferrari confronta- into the featured Scuderia Ferrari rev- to compliment-is he was a promoting tions at Le Mans, producer/directors elqdrivalry. The film speeds towards red- genius and entrepreneur at heart. It took Adam Carrolla and Nate Adams are back line as Carroll, fusing himself and his a multitude of folks we know to tell his with Shelby American. This time out, the enterprising Shelby American crew's story: Mario Andretti, Bob Bondurant, filmmakers examine the life story and smarts with Ford factory money and Pete Brock, Enzo and Piero Ferrari, Edsel celebrated doings of the late, emphati- muscle, goes head to head with the Ford I1 and Henry Ford 111, Mauro cally great, Carroll Shelby. Through col- fiercest of opponents: Enzo Ferrari. Forghieri, Dan Gurney, Lee Holman, lected photographs, archival footage, and In the process, Shelby American Parnelli Jones, Bill Krause, John Surtees, interviews with Carroll, his sons and becomes a story about cars, people, and and even more. Not to mention the grandsons, Shelby associates, and an conflict that only actual footage and par- film's anchoring narrator, A.J. Baime, eminent cast from the automotive and ticipant commentary can tell as it really author of the groundwork book Go Like business worlds, this new offering traces was. Where the resolute Mr. Ferrari pro- Hell- Ford, Ferrari, and Their Battlefir his full-throttle life, from 1923 birth in claims, in translated subtitle, "When we Speed and Glory at Le Mam. Leesburg, Texas to 2012 death in Dallas. lose, it is always clear-and then losing, All put together, this latest Chassy Even the most seasoned scriptwriters we build new machines," Shelby, who Media gift gives us the hll-circle saga of would be hard-pressed to invent a char- earlier couldn't come to terms with Enzo Carroll Shelby, from his Ferrari-driving acter as engaging as Shelby--conceivably to drive for his factory team, vows "to wins in America to his Ford triumphs today's best-known car-guy-name in the whip Ferrari's ass." over Ferrari in Europe-including sundry world. And what we have here in this Their weapons are the Shelby- marriages, later-life heart and kidney two-hour bio-doc is reality's edition of groomed Ford GT Mark I1 versus transplants, and dubbing himself "a walk- the movie-version Carroll portrayed by Ferrari's 330 P3. As the battle intensifies, ing chemical depository." Matt Damon in Ford v Fewari, the James Ferrari's F1-engined P4 chases the aero- Shelby American delivers the authentic Mangold blockbuster I reviewed in the dynamically improved Ford Mark IV. Carroll that no other media effort thus last issue. While Damon toiled to con- Also grandly covered is the FIA's Gran far has been able to do. 18 FORZA JUNE 2020 .