My Car Quest

April 19, 2024

A Brief History of the Shelby Cobra

The history of Carroll Shelby is multifaceted, complex and fascinating. The movie Ford v Ferrari focuses on his involvement with the 24 Hours of Le Mans where he won the race outright with co-driver Roy Salvadori driving an Aston Martin in 1959. He … [Read more...]

The Mystery Cobra Still Confounds Historians – AC MA200

by Wallace Wyss - Now some historians lay into A.C. Cars Ltd, the fabricators of the Cobra, saying they were crude builders, with no finesse, no modern engineering. Some of that’s true. But there is one prototype that is out and … [Read more...]

The First Shelby Cobra

Yes, Shelby’s family sold it. by Wallace Wyss - I suppose a lot of inventors sell the first of something they create but you gotta hand it to Carroll Shelby, he hung onto that first Cobra through thick and thin. Did Henry Ford keep the … [Read more...]

AC 428: If Shelby Had Gone Italian

by Wallace Wyss - Actually Shelby knew the Italians could whack out bodies like nobody’s business, and after the first Cobra coupe was bodied entirely in the U.S. body wise (by Bill Honda) he sent the remaining five chassis to Carrozzeria Gran … [Read more...]

The AC Cobra Mk. IV

The most fun was the Angliss-Shelby fight - in the pages of CAR magazine… by Wallace Wyss - The AC Cobra, as most Cobra fans know, was developed from the AC 2.6 which was a later model developed from the AC Ace, which had gone into production … [Read more...]

The Mid-Engine (Almost) AC Shelby

The Almost Superstar: How two Californians invented a car that almost made it into production…. by Wallace Wyss - Ya gotta admit, in the performance car world, Carroll Shelby was an inspiration to many. Here’s the basic formula for his … [Read more...]