There used to be a monthly feature in the Reader’s Digest called something like “The Most Unforgettable Character I’ve Ever Met.” For me, that’s Carroll Shelby. I guess perhaps I’m prejudiced because we’re dear friends. But here’s a guy—83 years old—with two transplants (heart and kidney). He has a large facility in Gardena, California, that houses his experimental engine laboratory, a shop that makes aluminum heads and blocks for his Cobras, his car collection and the Carroll Shelby Children’s’ Foundation…

Driving Tony Parrravano’s 4.9 Ferrari, Shelby defeated Phil Hill in a Monza Ferrari in a nose-to-tail duel at Palm Springs on November 4, 1956.
Photo: Art Evans