I think by "hand" somebody meant "permission to copy and enhance the A/C Cobra" and nothing more.
Shelby Dodges and Dodge Shelbys
Shelby began working with Dodge at the request of Chrysler Corporation chairman, Lee Iacocca.[14] Iacocca had previously been responsible for bringing Shelby to the Ford Mustang. After almost a decade of tuning work, Shelby was brought on board as the "Performance Consultant" on the Dodge Viper Technical Policy Committee made up of Chrysler's executive Bob Lutz, Product Design chief Tom Gale, and Engineering Vice President François Castaing.[15] Shelby was used for his wealth of experience to make the Viper as light and powerful as possible.[15]
The following cars were modified by Shelby, and bore his name, but still sold under the Dodge marque:
19831984 Dodge Shelby Charger
19851987 Dodge Charger Shelby
19841986 Dodge Omni GLH
The following cars used Shelby-modified parts, but were not overseen by Carroll Shelby:
1986 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z C/S
19871988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z
19881991 Dodge Daytona C/S
19891991 Dodge Daytona Shelby
19881989 Dodge Lancer Shelby
19891990 Dodge Shadow Competition
19911992 Dodge Spirit R/T
19921993 Dodge Daytona IROC R/T
The following cars were modified and sold as Shelbys:
1986 Shelby GLHS (based on the Dodge Omni GLH)
1987 Shelby GLHS (based on the Dodge Charger Shelby)
1987 Shelby Lancer (based on the Dodge Lancer)
1987 Shelby CSX (based on the Dodge Shadow)
1988 Shelby CSX-T (based on the Dodge Shadow)
1989 Shelby Dakota (based on the Dodge Dakota)
1989 Shelby CSX-VNT (based on the Dodge Shadow)