Carroll Shelby began his racing career in 1952 winning a race in an MG TC in Oklahoma, and gaining such a reputation that he was given invitations to drive for factory teams. Shelby drove a record-breaking Austin-Healey on Bonneville Flats in 1954 and is given co-driver place with Aston Martin for the 1954 Le Mans 24 hours, an event he shares victory in 1959 with the Aston Martin DBR1/300. He retired from driving after winning the 1960 USAC championship and after being diagnosed with a heart condition. In 1961 Carroll Shelby went knocking on the door of AC at Thames Ditton looking for a British sports car that could be re-engined with a Ford V8 for racing. Alan Turner at AC liked this idea and set about the chassis engineering for the new engine, and in 1962 the MkI Shelby Cobra (or AC Cobra) was exhibited with a 260 cu.in. Ford Galaxie lightweight V8 engine. A.C. sent Cobras to Shelby for completion, and Ford helped to develop the Cobra 427, but this had homologation issues and few were sold. In 1963 Shelby begins development of the Daytona Coupe, which is a Cobra with an aerodynamic body aimed to give 200mph on the Mulsanne Straight. Shelby also took on development of the Sunbeam Tiger, an Alpine with Ford 289 engine. In September 1964 the Shelby Mustang GT350 is introduced, a car commissioned by Ford. In January 1965 Shelby is given the Ford GT40 project. The Ford Shelby GT40 MkII win the 1966 Le Mans 24hour race 1-2-3. The Shelby-Ford partnership is ended in 1970, and Shelby withdraws from motor racing. In January 1989 the Dodge Viper is exhibited at the Detroit Motor Show, a car developed by Carroll Shelby for Chrysler.