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...
Renault is getting ready...
Renault is getting ready to reveal a luxurious new seven-seat ‘crossover’ car that could feature a hi-tech hybrid powertrain.
The newcomer is likely to be based on the Egeus concept (above), which made its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2005.
Sitting above the new Koleos compact SUV, it will rival the Mercedes R-Class. The seven-seater will have a four-wheel-drive transmission like the German challenger. This will be tuned to deliver sharp on-road handling, rather than serious mud-plugging.
Speaking about the new vehicle, Renault spokesman Emmanuel Bonvier said: “We want the car to enhance our presence at the upper end of the sector. It will offer excellent handling, together with a practical interior layout. But it must also deliver low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions.
To achieve this, we will optimise our existing engine technology, while exploring the possibility of a hybrid drivetrain.”
It is likely that the new crossover will be built alongside the Koleos at the firm’s Samsung factory in South Korea.
Although no firm production plans have been made, Bonvier predicted that showroom-ready cars should be ready by 2012.