The
AC Cobra was first conceived by gentleman
called Carroll Shelby. Shelby was a racing
driver who raced both British and American cars.
He reckoned that although American cars have big
engines they were too big and heavy; but
conversely British cars were light weight but
had engines that were fairly small! He put two
and two together and decided that a marriage of
the best of each would be ideal; a British frame
and bodywork with a thumping great American
engine. The AC Shelby cobra was born!
Not very many were actually sold; the market for
cars suitable for both road and racing use was
fairly limited and so it was eventually
discontinued. However it was a beautiful and
powerful car; a real head turner and so
thousands of replicas have been constructed ever
since the last genuine one left the production
line.
A real original Shelby Cobra would never set you
back £1 million or so; but a company called
Superformance is licensed by Carroll Shelby to
create a new generation of Cobras based loosely
on the original.
If you fancy one of the most beautiful cars ever
created, only with an even more powerful 520
brake horsepower Ford engine under the bonnet,
with a frightening top speed and acceleration
like a banshee on steroids,you could buy one for
around £75,000; a snip at the price and probably
the most exciting purchase that anyone can make
in a lifetime!.