Finally, there"s sad...

Finally, there"s sad news for fans of historic motors who were planning to head to Birmingham for the show. The Classic Car Tour, which organisers had hoped would see up to 250 vehicles arriving simultaneously from five locations across the UK, has been cancelled. The reason was simple - not enough people wanted to take part. "It"s a shame, but with less than 30 entries confirmed we had to make a decision," said a show spokesman.

He entered several competitions...

He entered several competitions, often racing in his stripey farmer"s boiler suit as he"d come straight from work. And those stripes appeared later on the Cobra 427. By 1954, Shelby was one of the world"s most promising drivers, and set 70 land-speed records in an Austin-Healey. But a serious heart condition, diagnosed when he was 36, forced Shelby to give up racing - and he got involved in car development. In 1961, he mailed a proposal to AC Cars of Thames Ditton, Surrey, suggesting it fit a small-block Ford V8 into the Ace - and four years later, the Shelby Cobra 427 was born. Shelby has been involved with performance Fords ever since...