In America there are few automotive model names more instantly energizing than this one. The Shelby Cobra was an instant icon when it was introduced in 1962. It quickly became far more than an icon to the European racing community, too, when in direct competition (in its Daytona Coupe format) it proved to be faster than the Ferrari GTO (sacrilege!).
The Cobra encompassed a series of masterstrokes by a genius car builder. It likely will never be equaled for its wonderful combination of raw power and thundering performance, of unsophisticated yet undeniable and instant appeal, and for its eclectic mix of the European thoroughbred racing machine and the thumping horsepower of an American V-8. Cobra was beautiful in more ways than just its external skin, which by itself was certainly beautiful enough!
The secret to success for the Cobra was really no secret at all. It was the marriage of raw horsepower to a nimble and lightweight platform. It was a monster that could handle. It was beauty and the beast. Perhaps its power to weight ratio was its most noteworthy feature. At 2,000 pounds lighter than a Corvette, it ate Sting Rays for breakfast.
Not that there were no problems. The statement that Cobra was a monster that could handle, might be a bit misleading. The car could be driven very fast, indeed. But it was far from easy to handle this beast. It had the capacity of being driven very fast. It also had the capacity to embarrass its drivers over the tiniest of mistakes. It was not at all forgiving of mistakes. But the thrills provided by its performance and its good looks more than made up for its otherwise significant deficits and no-frills simplicity.
The reasons for the car's unforgiving handling characteristics are tied to the chassis from AC Cars of Britain. That chassis had never been intended for the kind of horsepower provided by the American V-8s Shelby matched it up with. Never the less, the AC platform was the reason for Cobra's success, more so than was the thumping power provided by Ford V-8 engines.
AC Cars had enjoyed a fine racing history of its own with this very car. The AC Ace, on which the Cobra chassis would be based, was introduced at the London Motor Show of 1953. That car, itself, was based on an earlier one-off creation by designer/engineer John Tojeiro.
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