Limited-edition Shelby Series 2 Coupe unveiled with fastback design

Shelby is celebrating 25 years of the Series 1, the first car designed from the ground up by company founder Carroll Shelby, by resurrecting it as a coupe. Buyers can choose between an aluminum and a carbon fiber body, but they’ll need to install an engine before going for a spin.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Series 1, here’s a quick overview: The roadster was unveiled at the 1997 Los Angeles auto show and developed as a then-modern interpretation of the famous Shelby Cobra. While the brand hoped to build 500 units, it ran into a number of problems (including federal safety standards-related hurdles) and stopped production after making 249 units. The Series 1’s planned successor, an updated model named Series 2, was presented in 2006 but shelved until 2018, when Shelby announced plans to build four units annually.

Back to the road: The 2024 version of the Series 2 is similar to the one unveiled in 2018, which was an evolution of the 2006 model that was itself an evolution of the Series 1, but it gains a fixed roof and a fastback-like roof line. Maryland-based Wingard Motorsports and Custom Coaches will handle production, and it notes that updated brakes, suspension changes, and chassis modifications allow the platform to handle more than 1,100 horsepower. How you get there is entirely up to you, as the Series 2 is being sold as a rolling, engine-less shell.

Shelby has three suggestions in mind. One is a 427-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) Windsor V8 built in-house. The second is Ford’s Godzilla crate engine, which is a 7.3-liter V8 originally designed for heavy-duty pickups. It makes 430 horsepower and 475 pound-feet of torque in its standard configuration. The third is an electric drivetrain that hasn’t been detailed yet. Either way, you’ll need to install it post-delivery.

Wingard Motorsports and Custom Coaches will build 10 units of the Series 2 coupe on behalf of Shelby. Pricing for the seven carbon fiber-bodied cars starts at $385,600 while the three aluminum-bodied examples are each priced at $498,200. Neither figure includes options, and it sounds like the sky is the limit; Shelby notes that every Series 2 coupe will be unique. The aforementioned engine options start at $83,500, plus the cost of having someone install it for you.

Here’s a gallery of photos of the Series 2 roadster: