Shelby Cobra
- Car model: Аc Cars
- Producing country: Great Britain
- Year of issue: 1962
- Body Type: Convertible
Shelby Cobra hasn’t lost its popularity after passing the test of time? To answer this question, I propose to explore the historical path of the object of our close attention. The whole model range is AC Cars.
The history of the car
AC Cobra was released in England in the early 60s of last century and immediately declared itself as a worthy and strong opponent, ready to compete and win. And success did not take long.
Shelby Cobra’s original design resembles a sports car, and it is not by chance. This car has many victories and achievements and, even, a world speed record with the Guinness Book of Records.
The car was so popular thanks to the experience of professional rider Carroll Shelby, who installed a Ford Fairlane forced engine with eight cylinders on the As As As Ace with a power of 260 hp. The engine power has been increased over time to 335 hp.
The car was able to develop a unique maneuverability and unsurpassed speed, showing a staggering result: at the next competitions it took the championship from the Chevrolet Corvette and, even, surpassed Ferrari. Shelby’s popularity was increasing, and the production of this car reached 1137 copies.
But in 1968, due to certain financial difficulties the production of AC COBRA 427 was stopped. But the legend could not leave indifferent its fans, and the production of the car was revived. Autoctaft and Shelby plant resumed production of the car and produced about 250 copies per year.
The popularity of the legendary car after the 90s
The 1990s saw the production of the fourth generation of Shelby Cobra MK-IV vehicles in the history of AC Shelby Cobra. What was the unique feature of this car? The basic models of the MK-IV had a fiberglass body, but it was also possible to order an individual body of aluminum or carbon fiber.
In the 2000s, production of the car was moved to Germany. The sports car was equipped with a new six-liter small block engine. The speed of the car became even higher, it could reach acceleration speed up to 100 km/h in just 3.3 seconds!
The history of the car has shown that the car has not lost its popularity for 50 years, but, on the contrary, has increased it. The price confirms the fact that at the 2013 Shelby 427 Semi-Competition Cobra auction in 1967 was sold for more than two million U.S. dollars. Originality, maneuverability, unrivalled speed and many other qualities of AC Cobra will please its fans for a long time.
We advise you to read the article: History of AC Cars
Shelby Cobra photo
