Unveiled at the 1997 Los Angeles Auto Show, it was intended to be a modern day reinterpretation of the original Shelby AC Cobra.

Despite initial claims that the car was entirely built in-house, much of the production run was overseen by General Motors with much of the components used from their parts bin, including the powerplant.

[1] Prior to production of the Series 1, significant costs were incurred in testing and certification required to conform to 1999 Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.

[2] A production run of 500 cars had been announced, but in total 249 of the Series 1 were constructed by Shelby American, all as 1999 models.

The second option included the addition of a supercharger costing US$35,100 which increased the power output up to 450 hp (456 PS; 336 kW).

Although the X50 package came up short of its advertised gains, both options worked well together pushing the power output to just over 540 hp (547 PS; 403 kW).

The Series 1 had dual wishbone suspension with coil-over remote reservoir dampers mounted inboard, and actuated by rocker arms.

The engine was mounted completely behind the front axle and drove a drive shaft supported in a torque tube that spun a 6 speed ZF trans-axle specially modified for the Series 1.

After the bankruptcy of Venture Corporation, new investors approached Carroll Shelby with plans to build a Series II (a.k.a.

After the prototypes were completed and before production began, more restrictive US DOT emission and safety standards became law, pushing the cost of Series II homologation well beyond what was originally anticipated.

With the significant changes and additional testing required to meet new standards, the project ran out of money and was put on hold.