Tell me I'm wrong... A Brown Ferrari?!?!

Lee .. This is so true I think for a car guy! I can remember the neighbors cars in my area, don't know their name.
I also remember some of my Grade 3-5 teachers cars. Later in high school you knew which teacher was "cool" on what they were driving... Mustang fast back, Olds 442 or the stodgy Ford Galaxie 4 door ( school principle) with a 289....

----Yup,,,Rare for a Dino or any other Ferrari!.....Bill S

Yup, same here, going back to my earliest memories. Memories of cars of course!!

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Dragon Snake (1963)

The Dragon Snake is among the rarest and most sought-after of all Cobra models. Shelby knew drag racing was hugely popular in the USA, so he came up with a package to make the Cobra an ideal competition car in National Hot Rod Association events. The pack included improved Koni shock absorbers, Goodyear slick tyres, a different rear differential for improved acceleration, and air scoop on the bonnet. The battery was moved behind the passenger seat for more weight over the rear wheels and a roll bar was installed.

The engines came with alloy cylinder heads and the internals were carefully balanced. Shelby produced six factory 289 Dragon Snakes and a sole 427 version, though several customers bought the pack to fit to their own cars.

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Shelby Daytona Coupe (1964)

Carroll Shelby had won the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1959 with Roy Salvadori in an Aston Martin. Now, he wanted to win the event with his own car. Earlier racing Cobras had varied success, with the car’s aerodynamics holding it back from beating the slippery Ferrari 250 GTO. So, Shelby came up with the Daytona Coupe based on a standard chassis. Power came from a 385bhp version of the 289 engine and six cars were built.

At Le Mans in 1964, the Daytona Coupe ran well and won its GT class with Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant driving. They finished fourth overall in the race but an outright victory eluded Shelby.

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Willment Cobra Coupe (1964)

When Carroll Shelby refused to sell a Daytona Coupe to British team owner John Willment, the Brit decided to build his own on a Cobra chassis he had lying spare. Willment had already run a Cobra, with the famous registration 39PE, so he knew the standard car was not sufficiently aerodynamic.

Using drawings from Shelby, the Willment car looked very similar the Daytona Coupe but it had a lower roof. Other differences were the Willment car used Lucas electrical components and Girling brakes. It was finished in Willment’s favoured red with white stripes and it ran well in various endurance races, but it never made it to Le Mans.

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A-98 Le Mans Coupe (1964)

While Shelby was working on his coupe to race at Le Mans, AC Cars in Britain were also developing their own fastback to compete in the French classic. Called the A-98, it was a one-off project and qualified for the 1964 Le Mans race. It relied more on its better aerodynamics than the Daytona Coupe to match lap times as the British car made do with 355bhp to the US rival’s 385bhp.

However, the biggest problem the A-98 faced was sabotage when someone stuffed newspaper into the fuel tank during the race. The car retired after seven hours, but one of its drivers, Jack Sears, became the only person to drive all three Cobra-based racing coupes.

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390 Big Block Flip-Top (1964)

The 390 Big Block was the first dabble with larger engines for the Cobra. However, this 390ci (6.4-liter) motor was no normal V8. It was an all-aluminium engine borrowed from Ford’s NASCAR program and had flip-open bodywork to make it easier to get at the mechanical components front and back. This earned it the nickname ‘Flip-Top’.

It made its debut at Sebring with Ken Miles at the wheel. The talented British driver declared the car almost undriveable. This didn’t stop Shelby from improving on the idea and Ken Sutton was enlisted to relocate the exhaust, brakes, suspension and engine. In this form, it left the competition trailing at its next outing at Nassau, but it retired soon after with brake problems.

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Slalom Snake (1964)

Keen to show well in auto test competition, Shelby came up with the Slalom Snake to show the Cobra was about more than just straight-line speed. To improve the handling, the two Slalom cars built had Koni shock absorbers, front and rear anti-roll bars fitted, and Goodyear Blue Streak Sports Car Special tyres.

Both cars were finished in white with red stripes and red leather upholstery. They also had seat belts fitted, along with cooling ducts for the brakes and side exhausts to give better ground clearance on rougher autocross courses.

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427 (1965)

The 427 of 1965 is the Mk3 Cobra and the one most people think of when contemplating the car. It’s bulging haunches and extended front wings, along with the optional side exit exhausts are the obvious clues to this model, but there are many other distinguishing features. Not least of these is the 427ci (7.0-liter) V8 big block motor that replaced the 289. With 425bhp, the 427 could hit 164mph and it was the fastest accelerating road car in the world with 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds.

Underneath, there was yet more to the revisions for the 427 with a new chassis, coil spring suspension all round, and a wider front air intake to feed cool air to the radiator. You could also order an S/C semi-competition model with 485bhp and 185mph top speed.

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Willment Cobra 427 Ghia Coupe (1965)

After his experiment with a racing coupe based on a Cobra, John Willment turned his attention to a road car project. As the owner of the UK’s largest Ford dealership at the time, Willment was fortunate enough to have a 427 Cobra chassis handy. Fancying a road car, he married this rolling frame with the abandoned body of a Fiat 8V with coachwork by Ghia. This car was known as the Supersonic in Fiat form but became known as the Willment Cobra.

Power came from a Holman and Moody race-prepared 427 engine with twin four-barrel carburettors. Willment lost interest in the car before it was finished, but it was later completed and still exists today.

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Ford XP Cobra (1965)

Also known as the Bordinat Cobra, the Ford XP Cobra was a one-off produced by Ford on a 427 chassis. The reason for this was Ford didn’t think a great deal of fit and finish of the cars built by Shelby and it wanted a car that would better chime with its mainstream models.

The XP Cobra followed the earlier Cougar II concept and was built by Ghia in Italy. It was a roadster with a removable hard-top and was shown to the public on a few occasions, but it then disappeared and rumour had it the chassis had been reskinned with a regular Cobra body.

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289 Sports (1966)

Ford bought the rights to the Cobra name in the mid-1960s and this left AC unable to use the famous badge on the cars it produced in the UK for domestic and European buyers. AC had also carried on building the narrow-hipped 289-style of body even when Shelby had moved to the 427 shape, so it made sense to call the British model a 289 Sports. The 289 Sports was also built with the 427’s flared arch bodywork for some models and it also enjoyed the all-round coil spring suspension set-up.

While all of this meant little to customers who continued to call the car a Cobra, it placated Ford that AC removed all snake badging from its cars. In any case, the 289 Sports still used a Ford V8 engine, though sales were modest with just 27 sold between April 1966 and February 1969.

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Autokraft MkIV (1982)

The Cobra might have been out to pasture since the late 1960s, but British firm Autokraft saw its potential in the 1980s. For 1982, Brian Angliss’ company took on the licence to build the AC Cobra. Largely similar to the 427 in shape and design, the Autokraft machine had a slightly reshaped body to afford more comfort. It also had independent suspension, a five-speed manual gearbox, limited slip differential and improved brakes.

Power for the MkIV came from Ford as per the originals, but this was a 302ci (4.9-liter) engine producing a relatively mild 253 hp. It was still good for 0-60mph in 5.2 seconds and 135mph. Angliss’ faith was repaid with steady sales of those who wanted a genuine Cobra but had missed the boat with an original and around 480 MkIVs of all types were produced up to 1996.

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Lightweight (1990)

Under Autokraft’s stewardship, a Lightweight Cobra model was introduced to appeal to those who might have bought an S/C in the 1960s. Weight was reduced by 264 lb to 1070kg (2354 lb) and power for the 302ci (4.9-liter) V8 was increased to 375 hp. The engine featured alloy cylinder heads, Holley four-barrel carburettor, and the catalytic convertors were removed to make the exhaust more free flowing.

Unveiled at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show, the Lightweight found a handful of eager buyers in Europe, but it didn’t meet US standards, so its market was limited.

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Superblower (1997)

A new owner for AC Cars arrived in 1996 with Pride Automotive. It quickly introduced two new models and the Superblower was the range-topper. With a supercharged 302ci (4.9-liter) V8, it delivered a surprisingly lazy 324 hp. It was not the sales star that had been hoped for and only 22 were made.

However, Pride tried another tack with a turbocharged model called the 212 S/C that used a twin-turbo 3.5-liter Lotus V8 borrowed from the Esprit. Again, it failed to find favour and only two were built.

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Shelby Heritage Cobra (1999)

Never one to miss a marketing opportunity, Carroll Shelby introduced his own take on the revived Cobra in 1999 with the Shelby Heritage Cobra. With his stamp of approval, it appeals to many buyers. Options include an aluminium body in place of the standard fibreglass one and there’s a choice of 289, 427 and Daytona Coupe bodies.

Power comes from Ford V8 engines and you can pick between 289ci (4.7-liter) and 427ci (7.0-liter). Take the bigger engine and power can be specified between 500- and 750bhp to give 0-60mph in less than four seconds. However, the basic price doesn’t include the engine, so be prepared to spend around $180,000 for a completed Shelby Heritage Cobra.

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AC Mk2 Classic (2012)

With the AC name now owned by Acedes Holdings, the company announced joint ventures in the UK, Germany and the USA to produce Cobras. The German car was set to use a Chevrolet 6.2-liter V8 and Corvette gearbox and brakes. The British-built model as the AC Mk2 Classic that took the original 289 as its inspiration.

At £67,500 (around $85,000 at the time), it seemed reasonable value against the rising prices of original 1960s Cobras. For the UK, it was set to have Ford V8 engines, while European buyers were offered Chevrolet motors. Whichever you chose, it would be built by Hi Tech in South Africa.

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Mk1 260 Legacy (2016)

AC Heritage is a British company based at the Brooklands race track and it launched its limited run of nine Mk1 260 Legacy model in 2016. The half million pound price tag bought you an exact copy of the Cobra in its original form, complete with 260ci (4.2-liter) Ford V8 engine.

All of the Legacy cars were made in left-hand drive and each used a brand-new 260ci engine that AC Heritage has managed to source. The aluminium bodywork could be ordered in one of only two colours: blue or yellow. This was a tribute to Shelby who repainted the original US road test car different colours to fool journalists into thinking there was more than one car.

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Superblower (2020)

The Superblower name made another comeback in 2020 with the 378 Superblower MkIV from AC Cars. It uses a 6.2-liter Chevrolet V8 engine from a Corvette and adds a supercharger to deliver 580bhp. Like the original Cobra, the Superblower has a twin round tube chassis.

Prices for this modern Superblower start at £129,500, which buys you a sports car with six-speed manual gearbox, multi-link rear suspension, ventilated disc brakes. It also gets you a car with a chassis plate that reads AC Cars. The company also produces a non-supercharged 378 and the 140 Charter Edition that looks like a 289 but comes with the 355 hp 2.3-liter four-cylinder usually found in a Ford Mustang.

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Series 1 and 4 Electric (2020)

As well as its modern take on the Cobra theme, AC Cars has gone one further with its Series I and Series IV Electric models. They take the looks of the 289 and 427 Cobras, respectively, and use electric motors with up to 626 hp in the Series IV to give 0-60mph in 3.8 seconds.

In the Series I, power is more modest and it covers the 0-60mph dash in 6.7 seconds, with a top speed of 120mph. A 54kWh battery is used in both models and offers up to 150 miles of range.

----Thanks for all the Shelby history, Lee, Much appreciated! My cousin (4 years older than me) owned serial No.3003 Competion Cobra for about 3 years and I had several very scary rides in that rocket ship. At around 130-140mph it would literally jump from one lane to another with no notice whatsoever. To this day I can't bring it up to him because he sold it for $5,500 with all the extras!.....Bill S

Great Cobra information, Lee. Thank you.