Shelby AC Cobra 427

Shelby AC Cobra 427

The AC Cobra was an American sports car built in the 1960s. The AC Cobra was not the first car to combine a lightweight European chassis and aluminium body with a big American V8 engine, but the AC Cobra is possibly the most famous. The later, larger-engined cars are still among the highest-performing road vehicles ever sold.

The first 75 AC Cobra mark I (including the prototype) were fitted with the 260 engine (4.2 L). The remaining 51 AC Cobra Mark I models were fitted with a larger version of the Windsor Ford engine, the 289 in³ (4.7 L) V8. Toward the end of 1962, Alan Turner who was the chief engineer at AC completed a major design change of the car's front end and was able to fit it with Rack and pinion steering while still using transverse leaf springs suspension. The new AC Cobra  went into production in early 1963 and it became known as the AC Cobra Mark II. The steering rack was borrowed from the MGB while the new steering column came from the VW Beetle.
The AC Cobra Mark III was designed in cooperation with Ford in Detroit. A whole new chassis was built which featured 4" main chassis tubes (instead of 3") and coil spring suspension all around. The new AC Cobra also had wide fenders and a larger radiator opening. It was powered by the famed "side oiler" Ford 427 engine (7.0 L) developing 425 bhp and attaining a top speed of 163 mph (262 km/h) in the standard model and 485 bhp with a top speed of 180 mph in the competition and semi-competition (S.C.) models. The production of the Cobra Mark III began on January 1st 1965.

Shelby Cobras had an extensive racing career. Shelby wanted it to be a "Corvette-Beater" and at nearly 500lbs. less than the Chevrolet Corvette, the lightweight car did just that. Although extremely successful in racing, The Shelby Cobra was a financial failure, which led Carroll Shelby to discontinue building cars in 1967

from Wikipedia