Jay Leno's Garage

In the late 1940s, engineer and RAF pilot Colin Chapman decided to utilize the experience he gained in the skies on the ground, by building a racecar in his girlfriend's garage. While still holding down his day job, Chapmen begged, borrowed and bartered to create his prototype, which he entered in a time trial as an afterthought.

In 1961, when legendary American race car driver Carroll Shelby learned that British auto manufacturer AC Cars lost their source for the engines used in their two-seat roadster, he sat down and wrote them a letter. Shelby proposed that AC continue building their chassis for a Shelby sports car, to be powered by an American V8.