... Chances are if you've been driving or riding American highways for many miles, you may have eventually seen a Cobra, especially if you live in California. But what you saw most likely wasn't real; numerous replicas and kit cars are out there cruising around. There were only a total of about 400 real Shelby Cobras made back in the '60s. Carroll Shelby was at the helm of this operation back in these days, which is an interesting story to tell...

In his day, engineer/designer/racecar-driver Carroll Shelby was highly regarded. Before race-driving, it seemed as if he were a bit lost (like many of us are). He got out of the U.S. Air Force after World War II ended, then tried running a dump truck business. Towards the end of the '40s, he then became a chicken farmer (imagine that!). He made an early profit, but his second coop of chickens all died of some disease.

In 1952, he somehow got involved in his first drag race at the age of 30, driving a Flathead Ford. From that humble beginning, Shelby really took off, eventually driving sports cars, rally cars, and Formula 1. For his first road race, he drove an MG-TC against stronger Jaguar XK-120s, and beat them.

Though his driving record wasn't all wins, there were some notable achievments. Competing (and winning) against the likes of Phil Hill, for instance. Shelby broke his arm during some race, yet managed to drive Sebring not long afterwards with his arm slung in a fiberglass cast, his hand taped to the steering wheel! He also set a string of records at the Bonneville salt flats in the mid-50s while driving for Austin-Healy, and competed at Le Mans. His final racing season went with a bang. This would have been in 1961. Carroll won the USAC Championship driving a Maserati.

However, sometime during 1960 Carroll was in the process of being done with racing due to health issues. Not that this slowed him down much; he simply got involved in more projects!

Most folks don't know that the car the Cobra was originally based on was not made by Shelby; but by AC, a British carmaker that eventually died in bankruptcy after Shelby's involvement with AC ended. AC's star was called the Ace.

AC Aces started off nothing like the ridiculous rockets Shelby later engineered, but they weren't endowed with great power, either. AC was hungry for some racing wins, which they hoped would help their sales (apparently, they were having problems before Shelby got involved). AC had a deal with Bristol (another British automotive company), which would have provided AC some 6-cylinder engines, but this deal fell thru.

At the same time, Shelby was really wanting to start his own sports car company. He may have noticed AC was having problems, and decided it would be cost-effective to join forces. AC's cars, after all, were sweet-looking rides.

When Shelby started combining his ideas with AC, he decided to stuff a 221 cubic-inch Ford V8 small block under the hood. Or maybe it was a 260. Various sources conflict this information. He initially tried to get Chevrolet involved, but Chevy didn't want to see Chevy-powered Cobras killing their Corvettes; so Ford was contacted instead. It was Chevy's loss! Eventually the Cobra wound up kicking the Corvette's ass in the SCCA, and then moving internationally to compete at Le Mans and countless other FIA events. There's too much information to get into here...suffice it to say Shelby/AC's Cobra did well with Ford power, and the Corvette couldn't always keep up.

To compete in the FIA's GT class, Shelby was required to build 100 total Cobras. At first, he is reported as being worried AC wouldn't be able to handle the pressure; just eight cars had been built at that point! But they got it together. So far as production went, the process was for AC to build the car, which would get freighted off to Shelby's shop in California, where the engine, transmission, drivetrain, and other parts would be installed by master-tuner Carroll Shelby. Here (in California) is where the Cobra really began its full life, a full 30 years before Dodge became obsessed with naming some of their cars after snakes. The Shelby/AC Cobra had a fully-independent front suspension with a live rear axle, rack & pinion steering, and Carroll had the V8 mounted somewhat behind the front wheels to preserve the car's balance and weight distribution, just as Mazda has been doing with their RX-7s.

...But like a true American, Shelby got greedy. Ha ha..just kidding, actually AC and others involved in the project were just as hungry for wins as Carroll. The 260 was quickly upgraded to the famous 289 to better compete in GT racing, and in 1965, the 427 was introduced, after Shelby & company tweaked the 289 as far as they could with what technology they had available, and found it just wasn't enough. The Cobra (as fast as it was) initially struggled at some races against Ferrari until the 427 was unleashed.

In GT2, the Cobra 427 is a prize, and actually there are two versions, since we can also find a Cobra Coupe racing car in this game as well (and dammit, the Coupe didn't make it to GT4!). We can win the 427 after completing the Muscle Car race at the extended Seattle track, but I believe the Coupe must be bought.  

In GT3 and GT4, Cobras are now for sale, and can be bought for around half-a-million credits. Though the Cobra cannot be race-modified in GT2, a total of 190 pounds can be shaved from its body with three weight reductions (more gets removed in the third game...a total of 260). This doesn't sound like much, but I'd recommend taking this car down to Stage 3 unless you're a competent Gran Turismo driver; it'll just make the Cobra easier to maneuever, though in the third game it also makes it less stable. Gotta lose somewhere. The Cobras of GT4 are mostly overkill machines, as we'll discuss in the next section. Weight never needs to be deleted for these.

Though the 427 Shelby Cobra is a fun car, I personally would have preferred the Cobra with the 289 or one of those small-blocks. Let's discuss the engine now.