Shelby Cobra

Legendary automotive engineer, Carroll Shelby designed and built the Shelby Cobra back in the early '60s. The original Cobra debuted in 1962, changing the way American sport cars were perceived, and brought an end to single-handed European domination in motorsport. Cobras, back in 1962 were built in Great Britain. The aluminum body, the chassis and the undercarriage were built by Auto Carriers (AC). It was then sent to California, where Carroll Shelby's facility installed the engines and the transmissions. Only a 1,000 were made between '62 and '68. During 1961, Ford was eager to expand into the high-end performance cars segment. So Shelby got Ford to build a lightweight, thin-walled compact V8 engine for the AC CobraB. It was the 289 Cobra with the 'slab-side', the fender flares were gone, that established the Cobra's racing status. Between '63 and '64, car designer Peter Brock designed the fastback-style Daytona Coupe which was to be christened 427 Cobra. It had a tube frame, coil spring chassis and an aluminum body. The 427 S/C Cobra was a street competition variant, with shining side-pipes, a 3 point roll bar and a hood scoop. This is evidently the most popular variation of the Cobra that car replica makers build today. There's an estimated 40,000 replicas of the Cobra, today. Carroll Shelby himself has started a project to build and supply newer variations of the serpent.