Looking forward to this movie as well.
Old Shel will be central character but it’s not a biography of him.
It looks like the story about Ford deciding to kick Ferrari’s but at Lemans after Enzo backed out of a deal to sell to Ford.
Shelby was already an established FIA endurance racer and car builder.
Being that he was American and already using Ford engines in his cars, Ford hired him to help with the GT40 program.
Shelby already had his Daytona Coupe up and running and wanted to use it.
Ford flat out ordered him to shelve that project and work on the GT40.
The famous podium sweep of 66 was the eventual result.
It should only be a snapshot in Shelby’s life.
Curious to see how it stacks up to the litterature on these events.
My wife wants to see it too.
Shelby certainly was talented and smart but some in the larger automotive industry of the time later described him as a bit of a swindler.
A couple of examples are that he kept changing the colour of his first Cobra daily to convince investors that he had several already built. He was showing the same car over and over.
He also bent the truth to A/C when he told them he had a contract with Ford for engines in order to secure their chassis. This was not true.
Once A/C agreed to supply chassis, then he was able to get engines from Ford.
He is also reputed to have buried some early Cobras in dirt to accelerate the aging - oxidization process to make it look like he had been building them for longer than he had.
Certainly an imaginative individual, and got things done.
I don’t think any of this will be in this movie being that its more about Ford and the GT40.
The bit about being a chicken farmer is accurate.
He was a farmer before deciding to make racing a full time carrer.
