The Shelby American (Winter 2021)

Brian Styles, owner of the only 1967 Shelby Mustang convertible produced, mentioned to me at the Chicago MCACN car show several years ago he loved his automobile collection but never really got to enjoy any of them. They were too valuable to drive. I sug- gested he have someone build him a replica of his coveted Shelby convert- ible.With a smile and a head nod, I left thinking he approved of my proposal. From that encounter I had assumed everyone else would have as well. But not so. Here’s what a few of our most respected SAAC members had to say about clones/tributes. Ed Meyer is the head judge of the 1969-70 Shelby class, and didn’t hesi- tate to comment. “ There are enough original Shelby Mustangs available, at any given moment in time, so we don't need clones or tributes of these mod- els. But there are not enough original Daytona Coupes and GT40s to satisfy demand, and they don't come up for sale very often, so I’m ok with cloning these. Cobras are also acceptable, but that depends on who cloned them as some are much better than others .” Good points, Ed, but what if the price of a Shelby Mustang is too much? I knew in 2010 my marriage couldn’t afford a $120K 1966 Hertz The SHELBY AMERICAN Winter 2021 53 – Jim Kruez