Taking on the chassis, suspension and general structure of the six-cylinder British Aces where they were patterned from, it was not until February of 1962 that the first car was finished. Such was its appeal that demand from the American consumers immediately poured in. However, production of this exotic sports car and its subsequent designs lasted only five years. Within that time and thereafter, they maintained a reputation of being fearsome road-going sports cars.
Because of their lineage, the Brits called them AC Cobras. Meanwhile Americans fondly referred to them as Shelby-AC Cobra and many just call them plainly Shelby-Cobra. Nowadays, they are simply remembered as the Cobra.
The Cobra’s body design was almost the same as that of the later Aces but with smaller front grille and flared wheel arches to allow for the fitting of wider tires for better road traction during high speeds for which it was designed for. With its sleek and curvy European-inspired body work, plus the power of its American engine, the Cobra was a sight to behold on the road.
The compact, thin-walled lightweight V-8 engine for Ford’s 1962 Fairlane, were designed to be 260 cubic inches and fitted onto the first batch of 75 Shelby Cobras out of the assembly line. Its all-synchromesh four-speed manual transmission by Borg-Warner gave the Cobra a top of the line mobility in its time. With the later models, the engines were modified to include a 289 cubic inches small block engine enlargement giving them more power. However, since the AC chassis could not withstand the engine’s torque, the cars’ wheels could not stay grounded at all times during high speeds and abrupt turns.
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