Mustang owners celebrate Shelby anniversary at Greenham
The distinctive throaty exhaust of Mustang cars was heard at Greenham Control Tower on Saturday (January 14) with the arrival of 10 Shelby GT500 and around 10 other Ford Mustangs, including a rare Shelby Daytona Coupe.
Cars came from far and wide, including one from Bristol and another from Cornwall. The occasion was a joint celebration by Mustang owners of the 100th birthday of Carroll Shelby and of Shelby American’s 60th year.
Paul Tucker, one of the Shelby Mustang owners, said: “Simply Mustangs UK is the largest Mustang group in the UK with over 5,000 Mustang owners and we were keen to ensure we marked both the 60th anniversary of Shelby American, as well as what would have been Carroll Shelby’s 100th birthday.
"Among many other achievements in his life, Carroll was most closely associated with sprinkling his magic on the Ford Mustang producing the iconic GT350 and GT500 models in the mid to late 60s, and again from the mid 2000s to the current day.
“Meeting at the Greenham Control Tower seemed appropriate, as during the Second World War, Carroll enlisted in the US Army Air Corp, graduating with the rank of Staff Sergeant. He later went on to be a flight instructor and test pilot.
"As an aside, on November 4, 1943, the 354th Fighter Group were deployed to Greenham Common and they flew the North American P-51 Mustang, which obviously shares its name with the car Carroll Shelby helped to make famous.”
Carroll Shelby was a man of rare racing talent and vision. An American automotive designer, racing driver and entrepreneur, he is still the only individual to win the 24 hours of Le Mans as a driver, team manger and manufacturer.
Shelby American, the company Caroll Shelby established in 1962, produced the Shelby Mustang in partnership with the Ford Motor Company. The car proved to be a winning combination of speed, performance and handling. In its first year, competing in the Sports Car Club of America’s B Production Class against the Corvette Stingray, Jaguar XKE, Sunbeam Tiger and various Ferrari models, the new Shelby Mustang dominated the competition and won the National Championship. It went on to win many more titles. This achievement was dramatised in the 2019 film Ford v Ferrari, with Matt Damon in the role of Carroll Shelby.
Further information about future events: Simply Mustangs UK on Facebook and www.greenhamtower.org.uk
