All things Carroll Shelby will be celebrated May 3-4 with the Team Shelby Movie Night and seventh annual Carroll Shelby Tribute Car Show at the headquarters of Carroll Shelby International in Gardena, California.
With the Shelby Cobra as the honored marque, a number of historic Cobras will be on display, as well as a batch of other Ford-powered performance cars. The weekend’s primary beneficiary is the Carroll Shelby Foundation.
The event starts May 3 with the showing of the 1966 film musical Spinout, starring Elvis Presley and featuring a Shelby Cobra in a leading role. The evening will have a carnival atmosphere, the organizers say, with games, food and, of course, Shelby gear.
“Carroll Shelby was truly a visionary,” Joe Conway, co-chief executive of Carroll Shelby International, chief executive of Shelby American and board member of the Carroll Shelby Foundation, said in a news release. “He is internationally famous for winning races and founding Shelby American. He created communities through his dynamic car clubs and started a charitable foundation that has impacted the lives of thousands of young people.”
The Carroll Shelby Tribute Show takes place Saturday, May 4, with many historic and current models, and with the stated goal of bringing as many Cobras as possible to one spot. “Mr. Cobra” Lynn Park, original roadster owner Hank Williams, and other Cobra folk have committed to showing their special sports cars.
“One of the most anticipated cars will be CSX2154, a Shelby Cobra roadster presented by the Cobra Experience of Martinez, California,” the organizers says in the release. “This special 1963 Shelby Cobra was built specifically for competition and was the first race car sold by the factory when new.”
Providing the backbeat during Saturday’s show will be singer/songwriter Carol Connors, best known for co-writing the Rip Chords’ Hey Little Cobra. Connors is best known for co-writing the theme for the movie Rocky.
For more information, visit the event website.
Carlisle celebrates half century of groovy
The 2019 season of Carlisle Events goes groovy this year with an emphasis on the 50th anniversary of the Summer of ’69, with all its automotive happening from this week’s Spring Carlisle, Thursday, April 25, and through Sunday, April 28, and continuing through Fall Carlisle in October. Special displays and events focusing on the cars and happenings of that landmark year will be featured at the Carlisle, Pennsylvania shows.
This weekend, Spring Carlisle includes a collector car auction, swap meet and cars-for-sale corral featuring acres of private sellers and vendors hawking cars, parts and accessories. The auction will feature more than 500 collector vehicles crossing the block during the two days of the sale, April 25 and 26.
For more information, visit the event website.
Dream Machines in California
The 29th annual Pacific Coast Dream Machines Show, a “massive celebration of mechanical ingenuity, power and style,” takes place April 28 at the Half Moon Bay Airport, about 20 miles south of San Francisco.
“The show is a whimsical, fascinating, amusing, curious and absolutely unique show-and-tell spectacle featuring 2,000 magnificent driving, flying and working machines from the 20th and 21st centuries,” according to the event new release.
Vehicles on display run the gamut from antique horseless carriages and Ford Model T’s to street rods, muscle cars, sports cars and the latest high-performance exotics. Competition vehicles include dragsters, tuners, streamliners and jet cars.
Special attractions include vintage warbird flyovers, skydiving demos, a massive “cacklefest” of revving high-performance engines, motocross stunts and Quad Wars racing, race car exhibits and an antique-engine startup from the Early Days Gas Engine & Tractor Association.
For more information, visit the event website.
More concours ands events
The nation’s largest gathering of classic cars and vintage boats, Keels and Wheels will be held Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5, at the Lakewood Yacht Club in Seabrook, Texas. This year’s car show features 100 years of Bentley, Lamborghini and cars of Shelby. Author Clive Cussler will serve as grand marshal. For more information, visit the event website.
The fourth annual Cars on Kiawah festival of automobiles takes place Saturday, May 4, at Ocean Park on Kiawah Island in South Carolina. More than 250 vehicles are expected. For more information, visit the event website.
The Greenbriar Concours d’Elegance returns for its second year from Friday, May 3, to concours day on Sunday, May 5, at The Greenbriar resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. This year, the concours honors Rolls-Royce and 100 Years of Bentley with a special class. For more information, visit the event website.