Review: 24 Hour War & Shelby American

If you've seen the movie, Ford v. Ferrari that premiered in 2019, you'll be familiar with the subject matter of these 2 Netflix documentaries: 24 Hour War and Shelby American.

Ford v. Ferrari starred Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale as race driver Ken Miles.

The movie was about the fierce rivalry in the 1960s between automobile magnates Henry Ford II and Enzo Ferrari.

Backstory

I think the rivalry probably stemmed from Henry Ford II tendering an offer to buy Ferrari. Said offer was rebuffed in a rather dismissive way.

The result was that Ford decided to stick it to Ferrari by beating him at LeMans. He had the money and the will to do whatever was necessary to make that happen.

24 Hour War

This documentary is the true story behind the Ford v. Ferrari movie, with film footage of interviews with the important players. It's the truth behind the Ford v Ferrari movie.

Actually, it's  more compelling than the movie because you see the real people "acting out" on film, not just actors portraying them.

If you don't subscribe to Netflix, you can rent or buy 24 Hour War from Amazon.

Enter Carroll Shelby

Shelby was a good old boy from Texas who must have had gasoline circulating in his veins. From an early age, he loved driving fast.

(Based on most native-born Texans I've known, this seems to be a fairly common trait. Hat tip to my Darling Hubby who raced his 1964 Buick Skylark.)

Not only did Shelby like to drive fast, like most Texans he was always trying to make his car faster or louder or both.

Back in the day, it was nothing to see these guys jerk an engine out to put in a bigger one or bigger headers or racing slicks. Shelby and other men of that era constantly tinkered with their cars to get more horsepower and speed.

Available only on Netflix

Shelby American

As much as I loved 24 Hour War, I found Shelby American to be an even greater delight.

This documentary is about Carroll Shelby, the man who won LeMans for Henry Ford. Through triumphs and trials, Shelby plugged away at his goal of winning LeMans.

Shelby American also features interviews and vintage film footage to tell the story of how Shelby reinvented his life.

First a Texas farmer, he became a winning race driver, an automotive designer, and, finally, a legend. Not many people can attain the status of being a name known all over the world, but Shelby did it, and he did it his way.

Takeaway Truth

If you have a need for speed and a love of cars, you must see these 2 documentaries.

Even if that doesn't describe you, you'll enjoy 24 Hour War and Shelby American. They're both compelling and feel like fast-paced movies. Just the way Shelby would have wanted it. Fast.