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289 FIA sketch (31 Kb)
AC Cobra 289 FIA

What is AC?
What is a Cobra?
Is a Cobra a Cobra?
Cobra 289 Specifications - original Shelby vs. typical replica
A Guide to Buying a secondhand Cobra replica
Chassis Numbering Explained
Carroll Shelby
Little Known Facts about the 289

Supercar Classics, July 1987 - Road test of John Atkins' COB 6058, Interview with Carroll Shelby, Cobra History, Fancier's Guide, Cobra 427

Cobra and Cobra Replicas, 1962 - 1989, Gold Portfolio

Classic & Sports Car, February 2001 - AC 289 Mk.III, Mustang GT350 and Sunbeam Tiger Mk.2, Interview with Carroll Shelby

Various 289 Replica Kits

289 In Print & On Screen - magazine articles, books, videos and films about the 289



What is AC?

A BRIEF HISTORY OF AC CARS
From W D Hurlocks's foreword to Trevor Legate's fabulous book Cobra - The Real Thing.

In 1904 John Portwine, a wealthy butcher, and John Weller, a gifted young engineer, formed Autocarriers Ltd in order to produce the 'Autocarrier' business tricar. This vehicle was very successful and was used by many London stores which was followed, in 1907, by the 'Sociable' passenger version. The factory moved to Thames Ditton in 1911 and by 1913 the four wheel Fivet engined light car, known as the 'Rolls Royce of light cars', was coming off the line. During the twenties, under the control of S.F. Edge, AC cars were powered by either the four-cylinder Anzani engine or the famous Weller designed six cylinder, alloy, OHC engine which, with consistent development, enjoyed a record production run from 1919 to 1963. 1922 saw J.A. Joyce, driving an AC at Brooklands, being the first light car to cover 100 miles in the hour and in 1926 the Monte Carlo Rally was won by the Hon. Victor Bruce in a six cylinder car. The thirties saw ACs, now owned by the Hurlock family, produce a beautiful line of lean, low tourers, drophead coupes and saloons, culminating with the competition two-seater just prior to 1939 and the outbreak of hostilities. After the war 2 Litre saloons, dropheads and Buckland tourers were manufactured. In 1952 John Tojeiro's Bristol powered sports racing car formed the basis of the alloy-bodied Ace which, with gently revised lines and the Weller engine, was introduced in 1953. This was later joined by the Aceca and Greyhound, with the options in 1956 and 1961 of Bristol and Ford engines respectively. The Ace was particularly successful in competition and used by many racing drivers at the outset of their careers. 1964 saw the introduction of the Cobra derivative of the Ace, which in 4.7 and 7 litre forms, swept the board in International competition, winning the World Sports Car Championship in 1965. The Cobra was discontinued in 1968, after which the 7 Litre, 140 mph, steel-bodied Frua 428 was offered. The 1973 Earls Court Motor Show saw the appearance of the prototype 3000 ME which, with Ford V6 engine and grp bodywork finally went into production in 1978 and continued until 1985. During 1986, after 56 years of control, the Hurlock family sold the company, ownership passing eventually to a partnership of Autokraft Ltd and the Ford Motor Company. In 1988 AC Cars moved to a new purpose built factory located within the historic Brooklands race track and in 1992 Brian Angliss of Autokraft acquired Ford's interest and assumed full control. From 1985 the revised Cobra in mark IV form was the sole product, but, in 1990, a new Ace was designed which in 1993, with North American and EEC certification, entered production. AC Cars was bought in 1997 by Alan Lubinsky and development of the new AC Brooklands Ace, Aceca and the Superblower has continued under the AC Car Group name, still at the Brooklands Factory in Weybridge, Surrey.
In 1961 a phone call had been made from the USA to our works director, Mr E H Sidney, to the effect that Carroll Shelby had an ambition to install a new engine in our AC Ace with the intention of selling the car in America. Very shortly afterwards one of our work force reported that an engine had arrived from Japan. It had the word 'FoMoCo' written on the label, which somebody had associated with a Japanese word! It turned out, of course, to be one of the new 221 cu in thinwall cast-iron Ford V8 engines. A few weeks later I was standing outside the Thames Ditton factory talking to Reg Parnell of Aston Martin, when a taxi stopped and out stepped Carroll Shelby. Reg could hardly believe his eyes and, after an exchange of pleasantries, inquired whether Carroll had come all the way by taxi. 'No' replied Carroll, 'I came down on the trolley' (referring to British Rail's main line from London to Portsmouth).
That was the beginning, and with the eventual assurance from Ford USA regarding finance, plus the approval of the board, we began work on the prototype, hoping our new model would continue the success of the Ace.
The AC board at that time consisted of my father, William A. E. Hurlock (Chairman) his brother Charles F. Hurlock (Managing Director) and myself, the headstrong junior. With the project underway, Mr A. D. Turner, the Chief Engineering Designer, started work stressing and strengthening the chassis to take the strain.
Amongst the requests from the USA came the instructions to fit inboard rear brakes. I thought this some-what strange as I recalled a previous occasion when sharing the Goodwood circuit with Aston Martin during a test day, Carroll and Reg Parnell bemoaned the fact that the inboard rear brakes of the Aston could never be successfully cooled without huge vent pipes coming from the front of the car through the cockpit. However, the first Cobra was produced with rear inboard disc brakes, but was the only example with this layout. We had a marvellous team at the time, without whom the Cobra would never have achieved the success it did. Naturally, the car went through several phases of redesign, the most important of which was the change from transverse leaf suspension to coil springs. At that point we received help from the technicians at Ford USA who, along with their computer read-outs, came to the factory to redesign the suspension geometry. They were all very competent people and with Alan Turner presiding over the operation it turned out to be a very efficient independent suspension design.
One gentlemen from Shelby American will always be remembered above all others and that was Phil Remington. I shall certainly never forget him and will not attempt to describe him, for he was so capable in every way.
He called himself simply a mechanic but as one of the chiefs in the Ford hierarchy is reported to have said ... 'If Phil Remington is a mechanic then at least 99 per cent of the others who carry that title are imposters'... He worked along with our team in the Experimental Shop, including Vin Davidson who had helped construct the original Tojeiros and had joined us at the outset of the Ace. The good natured slanging matches which went on regarding the varying American descriptions of the anatomy of an automobile and those of our own mechanics was humour indeed.
One abiding memory will be of our special Le Mans Car which caused a sensation when we innocently descended on the M1 motorway very early one morning in June 1964, to test it at over 180mph. It really was a super car and differed from the Cobra in that the seats were down level with, and outside, the main 4 inch chassis tubes. It had a very fundamental coupe body designed by Alan Turner and I was very proud of it. This car was entirely an AC effort and unfortunately totally wrecked at Le Mans after a tyre burst. For me, that car marked the end of the era for front-engined sports cars.

W D Hurlock Chairmans AC Cars (1920 - 1992)


1901 John Weller, an engineer backed by John Portwine, a wealthy butcher, set up a small engineering workshop in South London to build motor cars.
1903 A two-cylinder 10 hp model and a four-cylinder 20 hp model were displayed at the British Motor Show. Autocar June 6th reported, 'We foresee a brilliant future for the Weller car and its talented designer'.
1904 The firm, then known as Autocar & Accessories Limited, produced a commercial vehicle known as the Autocarrier. This was a 5.6 hp air cooled single cylinder tricycle built as a delivery vehicle - which proved successful.
1905 The Autocarrier found an immediate market and became a familiar sight. It was fashionable for firms such as Maple & Co, Dickens & Jones and Goodyear Tyre Co to have at least one as a delivery van. One company ran a fleet of over 70.
1907 A passenger-carrying version of the Autocarrier was made, known as the Sociable. Its simple and practical design ensured its production until 1915. The abbreviation AC was used for the first time and in November a new company was formed, Autocarriers Limited, taking over Autocar & Accessories but with Weller and Portwine still as Directors.
1910 'Motor Cycling' August shows the Autocarrier adapted for military needs. The 25th London Cyclist Regiment was equipped with these vehicles. Maxim guns were mounted on special bodywork and other Autocarriers were adapted as ammunition transporters. The Autocarrier was chosen by the military authorities because of its reliability, lusty performance and special manoeuvrability.
1911 Autocarriers Limited moved to larger premises at Thames Ditton in Surrey, at which time Weller designed AC's first production four-wheel car.
1914 During the First World War, AC's efforts were concerned with the manufacture of shells and fuses.
1918 Full production commenced with the two-seater, four-cylinder car which sold at £255. The cars were immediately successful in competition, particularly in hillclimbs and early trials such as the Land's End.
1921 Showrooms and offices in London's Regent Street were opened, and racing driver S. F. Edge joined the board of Directors. Weller and Portwine resigned. Edge became Chairman and AC Cars Limited was formed. The cars were sporting in character, possessed an amazing performance and were equipped with stylish bodies offered in a range of colours. Success in both competitive and ordinary motoring proved the AC slogan at the time: 'The First Light Six - and still the best'.
1922 Of all AC's competition achievements, they were especially proud of having covered one hundred miles in the hour, with a special AC record-breaker powered by their four-cylinder, four valve per cylinder engine. Mr J. A. Joyce drove the car at Brooklands in November and completely shattered all the light car records, the fastest lap being the last one at 104.85 mph.
1928 Seven models were now on offer, ranging from the Aceca two-seater coupe to a long wheelbase coachbuilt saloon. The output of the AC six-cylinder engine increased from 40 to 56 bhp. The AC Car Company was at this time one of Britain's largest automobile manufacturers.
1929 The World economic recession - AC Cars Limited, together with many others of the period, went into voluntary liquidation.
1930 William A. E. Hurlock and his brother, Charles F. Hurlock, purchased the AC Car Company. No new cars were produced but servicing facilities were maintained. Pressure from satisfied AC customers persuaded the new Directors that there was a future for limited production of hand-made cars for a specialist market. Throughout the 'thirties', the AC six-cylinder engine served faithfully in achieving tremendous results in events such as the RAC and Monte Carlo Rallies. With showrooms in Park Lane, London, the Company was prosperous and stable.
1931 The name Ace was used for the first time.
1933 Four new cars were entered in the RAC Rally, and all of them took prizes. A four-seater sports driven by Miss Kitty Brunel scored an outright win, Charles Hurlock took fourth place, William Hurlock sixth and Mrs G Daniel finished seventh and took first prize in the concours d'elegance.
1937 AC found export sales in North America.
1939 The outbreak of World War II. All production facilities turned to the war effort for the manufacture of fire-fighting equipment, aircraft parts, radar vans, flame throwers, guns and sights.
1945 When war activities ceased, thoughts turned again to motor cars. Slowly, following much development and improvement, production grew.
1950 Five cars per week were produced of the Two Litre model, which was available in several body styles.
1953 The AC Ace, an open top two-seater sports car was produced and quickly gained a big following amongst sporting motorists. It was highly successful in British 'Club' racing, being the type of fast, tough car that a private owner could race and rally and still use for everyday motoring.
1954 The Aceca Coupe was introduced at the London Motor Show and went into production the following year.
1957 Le Mans - Ace Bristol finished tenth overall. Efforts never concentrated solely on cars and the familiar blue invalid carriages were turned out by the hundreds at Thames Ditton, alongside the high powered sports cars.
1958 Le Mans - Special-bodied Ace Bristol finished eighth, a standard version ninth.
1961 Carroll Shelby, a Texan ex-race driver, entered negotiations with AC Cars and with the backing of The Ford Motor Company, proposed the installation of a large Ford vee eight engine in the current lightweight AC Ace. Built by AC Cars, the combination resulted in the AC Cobra, one of the fastest and most brutal sports cars ever produced.
1962 AC Cars production concentrated on manufacturing the AC Cobra. Each one was hand built at the factory in Thames Ditton.
1963 The AC Cobra caused a sensation by racing along the M1 motorway at 196 mph, leading to questions being raised in Parliament. Production of the AC Cobra was now 15 cars per week. The AC plant at Taggs Island, situated half a mile from the main AC Works, was fully occupied with the manufacture of motorised invalid carriages for the Ministry of Health. 1,200 invalid carriages were produced.
1964 Following the motorway sprint, a 70 mph legal speed limit was introduced. Two AC Cobras were entered in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race, the AC entry was the first British car to finish. By now, the 427 AC Cobra had the distinction of being listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest production car in the world, a title which it held for several years.
1965 The AC Cobra wins The Sports Car World Championship.
1967 AC Cars produced the 428, a seven-litre sporting model with a body design by Frua of Turin. 29 Convertible and 51 Fastback vehicles were produced up to 1973, when production ceased.
During the 1970s and early 1980s AC developed and produced the ME3000, a totally new mid-engined two-seater sports car.
1985 The updated 5.0 litre AC MKIV is re-introduced into North America, using the original tooling and meeting 50 State EPA and DOT Federal Regulations.
1986 After some 56 years of ownership, the Hurlock family sell their controlling interest in AC Cars to the joint ownership of Autokraft Limited and the Ford Motor Company.
1988 AC Cars moves into a new purpose-built factory of some 90,000 square feet sited within the historic Brooklands race track, scene of so many achievements by AC Cars during the 1920s.
1990 The 'lightweight' version of the AC MKIV is introduced.
1991 The AC Ace pre-production vehicle is constructed by Autokraft. The body styling is by International Automotive Design (IAD) of Worthing.
1992 Brian Angliss personally acquires Ford's interest in AC Cars Limited. The AC MKIV Lightweight is re-engineered to meet 1993 EEC and 49 State North American Certification Standards.
1993 The AC Ace receives full EEC type approval and is launched at The London Motorshow.
1994 The AC Ace enters production.
1995 The AC Ace is unveiled to America at the Detroit Motorshow.
1996 March, AC Cars placed in receivership. December, AC Car Group Limited acquires AC Cars from receivers with the backing of Pride Automotive Group Inc. Alan Lubinsky pledges to build MKIV sales and finally complete development of the AC Ace.
1997 AC Ace launched at the London Motor Show alongside the Superblower.
1998 New luxury grand tourer, the AC Ace goes into full production.
1999 AC announces a new relationship with one of the motor industry's great names, and offers Lotus powertrain options for Ace and Aceca. The new AC Cobra MKIV Carbon Road Series (CRS) is launched at the London Motor Show, the show car being the star prize in a 'Daily Telegraph' Motor Show Promotion. The 'Spirit of Brooklands' Superblower (developed for the Brooklands Museum Trust's British Sports Car Day) and the first full production Aceca are shown alongside the CRS and Ace at the Motor Show.


The history of AC goes back to 1902, when a London butcher, John Portwine, teamed up with engineer, John Weller. These two men decided to build a car which they proudly exhibited at the 1903 Motor Show in South London. The four seat tourer was an impressive machine, but very expensive to manufacture and ended up being a one of a kind. In 1904, Portwine and Weller unveiled a three-wheeled vehicle called the Auto Carrier. The AC was a delivery vehicle and proved to be very popular. The two men formed a company called Autocar and Accessories, Ltd. In 1907, their first passenger car was born and called the Sociable. The company was renamed Autocarriers Ltd. and all cars produced touted an AC emblem. In 1922, the company reformed under the name AC Cars Limited.
1913 saw the first four wheeled car called the 10hp AC. This car had a four cylinder French Fivet engine. The Fivet was later replaced with a 12 horsepower Anzani engine. AC produced several cars in the 20s but a two-seater Tourer and a 11.9hp Sports model were the only successful cars.
In 1922, Portwine and Weller sold the business to S.F.Edge who had provided financial help in the beginning. By 1925, AC was gaining a reputation through its race cars. AC holds the record as the first car in the 1,500cc class to break 100mph.
In 1930, William and Charles Hurlock bought the AC company to use it as a trucking depot for their firm. The brothers also built unique one of a kind cars on standard chassis. The chassis and engine were the same for all cars, but the body and interior were built to individual order requests. These cars were called AC Specials.
AC cars for the 30s included the Ace, the Ace Greyhound, the 16/66 Sports and the 2-4-6 Coupe. Production of cars was stopped with the outbreak of World War II, but in 1947, AC returned with a Two Litre Saloon model and a Two Litre Drophead. These cars continued into the 50s and were joined by the sporty Buckland. The AC Ace was a sleek open top two-seater sports car and the most successful model for the 50s.
In 1961, Charles Hurlock sent out an urgent message to find an engine source for the two-seater Ace roadster. The cars had been powered by a six-cylinder Bristol engine. Bristol was no longer making engines. A reply was received from race car driver and designer Carroll Shelby. Shelby stated he could produce a American V8 engine for the cars. The following month, Hurlock returned Shelby's letter, stating he was interested in Shelby's engine. During this time, Ford had produced a new 221 small-block V8 engine. The timing couldn't have been better.
In February of 1962, a deal was made and a new AC 260 Roadster, minus engine and transmission, was flown to Shelby's shop in Southern California. This new car was named the Cobra based on the body design of the Ace. The Cobra became a joint effort between Carroll Shelby, AC Cars Limited and The Ford Motor Company. The fine British craftsmanship, the Ford Power and Shelby's determination and racing successes made the Cobra famous and today ranks it a collectible and valuable classic car. The Cobra name and Trademark were sold to Ford Motor Company by Carroll Shelby in 1965.
Aside from the famed Cobra, AC also produced the AC 428, the Diablo and the ME3000 which debuted at the 1973 London Motor Show. In 1995, a new generation Ace was introduced.
Today, AC continues under the name of AC Car Group which makes the AC Britain's oldest surviving car maker. AC Car Group took control of struggling AC Limited in 1996.

History of A. C.
The first A.C. was a passenger-carrying version of the Auto-Carrier, a provision orientated tricar that had been made since 1904. The firm's joint founders were John Portwine, a butcher, who supplied the finance, and John Weller, a talented engineer. The works of Autocars and Accessories Ltd. was established in London's West Norwood and, in 1907, the company's name was changed to Auto-Carriers Ltd. Thereafter, the tricar was offered with passenger accommodation, initially in tandem, but by 1909 the Sociable was available with side-by-side seating. In 1911 the company moved to Thames Ditton, Surrey and 2 years later their first 4-seater was announced, a Fivet-engined light car with gearbox mounted in the rear axle. After the First World War, in 1919, a 1.5-litre, side-valve Anzani engine replaced the original power unit and production continued until 1927.
But Weller's masterpiece, announced in 1919, was a new wet-liner, 6-cylinder overhead-camshaft aluminium engine. It was listed initially in 1.5- and 2-litre forms it reached production status in 1921, though only in the larger capacity. The same year S. F. Edge, who had spearheaded Napier's fortunes in pre-war days, became a director and took over as chairman and governing director in 1922. Weller and Portwine resigned and the company's name was changed to A.C. Cars Ltd. Edge embarked on an ambitious programme of racing and record-breaking and, in 1926, the Hon. Victor Austin Bruce scored Britain's first Monte Carlo Rally win driving a 2-litre six A.C., with W. J. Brunell as the passenger and navigator. Just after the race, the Hon. Victor Bruce married Mildred Mary Petre, and the following year, Mrs. Bruce won the Monte Carlo Coupe des Dames of 1927, driving another of Edge's ACs, and then made an 8000 mile circuit of the Mediterranean, finishing off with a thousand-mile run at the Montlhery track near Paris. Later that year, Victor and Mildred Bruce drove an AC farther north than any car had ever gone before, some 230 miles north of the Arctic Circle in Finland.
The firm's name was changed, yet again, in 1927 to A.C. (Acedes) Cars Ltd., but 2 years later went into voluntary liquidation. Edge retired and, in 1930, two brothers, William and Charles Hurlock rescued the company, production re-starting in 1931. During the 1930s the Hurlocks offered a handsome range of sporting cars powered by the faithful Weller engine.
From the outbreak of the Second World War the company produced aircraft components for Fairey Aviation and, in 1940, a further factory was established on Taggs Island on the River Thames to manufacture guns, rocket launchers and radar equipment. After the war A.C. took a little time to get into their automotive stride and it wasn't until 1947 that their 2-litre saloon appeared. This was a well-equipped, though rather old-fashioned, cart-sprung model, which remained in production until 1956. By contrast, the Ace of 1954, Britain's first all-independently sprung sports car, was an up-to-the-minute offering. It was an effective revival of a pre-war name and A.C. sporting tradition. The performance of the Tojeiro-Bristol sports racers had much impressed A.C.'s Derek Hurlock, Cliff Davis being the most successful exponent of the make during 1953. Vincent Davison, who worked for Tojeiro, had also produced an example, though his car was powered by a Lea-Francis engine, obtained from Connaughts. A. C.s therefore purchased this car, along with Davison, and proceeded to transform it into the road-going Ace. The power unit was hastily removed and a UMB series A.C. engine fitted in its place. This was the car that appeared at the 1953 Motor Show. Its handsome bodywork was inspired by the Touring- bodied Barchetta 166 'Inter' Ferrari. The Ace, with minor changes, went into production the following year and, later in 1954, the Aceca coupe version appeared. Bristol engines were available for both from 1956. In 1960 came a further variation, the long wheelbase 4-seater Greyhound coupe with coil-and-wishbone independent front suspension and A.C. or Bristol engined. When supplies of the latter unit were threatened the Ford Zephyr engine was offered in the Ace and Aceca. In complete contrast to these sophisticated and potent products, A.C. made the 3-wheeler, B.S.A. engined invalid monocar and in 1953 came the Petite, a 3-wheeler in the traditions of the old Sociable, but it never really caught on and production ceased in 1958.
Meanwhile the Ace was destined for another transplant. In September 1961, Texan racing driver Carroll Shelby, who had co-driven the winning Aston Martin at Le Mans in 1959, wrote to A.C. suggesting that the Ace would lend itself to V 8 fitment. Later he became attracted to the 4.2-litre unit fitted to the Ford Fairlane, as new thinwall casting techniques meant that this iron engine weighed only 490lb with accessories. A.C.s responded positively and in the winter of 1961-1962 the prototype Cobra (Shelby had dreamed up the name) was built at Thames Ditton. Disc brakes were standardized with transmission, suspension and wheels being tailored to cope with the increased power. Demand was immediate and a production line for Cobras, though minus their engines and transmissions, was established. The A.C.s were then shipped to Shelby's works at Santa Fe Springs and later Venice, California for completion. The flrst 75 cars were fitted with 4.2-litre (260cu in) engines but for 1963 the model became the Cobra 289, a 4.7-litre engine being used. This increased demand meant that A.C. dropped all their other models, the Weller-designed 2-litre six ceasing production 44 years after it was first announced! Meanwhile the Cobra gained rack and pinion steering and wider wheels and tyres. In October 1964 the Ace's original transverse leaf spring-and-wishbone suspension was replaced by a new coil spring/wishbone layout from America. An even larger engine was fitted from October 1965, the Cobra 427 having a 7-litre V 8 Ford, the title traditionally reflecting the engine's displacement in cubic inches. But the model was gradually becoming more Shelby and less A.C. So for 1966 A.C. produced their own 427, an extended Cobra chassis being fitted with a handsome open 2-seater body styled and produced by Frua of Turin. The following year the engine was changed to one of 7016cc, the car becoming the 428, a fastback version being announced later in 1967.

A.C. production 1947-1967

2-litre
2-door saloon 1142
4-door saloon 46
Drophead coupe 23
Experimental drophead coupe 1
Chassis only 25
Buckland tourer 59
TOTAL 1296

Aceca, AC engine 152
Aceca, Bristol engine 169
Aceca, Ford engine 8
TOTAL 329

Greyhound *82
*includes round tubed prototype, flat six engined car and 2.6-litre Ford powered chassis

Cobra
Marks I and II 664
Mark III and chassis without bodies 350
Others 5
TOTAL 1019

427 and 428
Frua bodied (to 1973) 80

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What is a Cobra?

289 & FIA (23 Kb)
Behind the racing Cobra 289 FIA is the road-going 'slab-sided' 289

Imitation is said to be the greatest form of flattery, and it is little wonder that so many replicas have been made of what is one of the greatest cars of all time - the legendary AC Cobra. The word 'Cobra' conjures up images of the brutal 427 in most peoples minds, but some people prefer the slimmer and more subtle lines of the earlier Cobra 289. Demand well exceeds supply of the rare and hardly affordable original 289s and 427s, which inevitably led to a thriving replica industry.
But what was so special about the Cobra that makes it such a desirable car, both in original and replica form? A range of powerful V8 engines were planted into a lightweight shell, giving incredible performance to match its sexy curving, flowing shape. Obviously, anything so beautiful and emotive as the Cobra is bound to attract lots of attention, not least from writers. Amongst the dozens of car books and articles that I have collected over the years, I think the following piece from the book "Classic Sportscars" by Paul Badré and Alberto Martinez summarises the Cobra best of all .....

"The traditional open sportscar in which the driver sat exposed to the elements died out at the end of the sixties. It was killed off by the 'Grand Tourisme' or GT coupe, in which the driver sat snugly in a protective shell. This demise was hardly surprising - the trouble with being on top is that there is only one way to go - and that's down. The 1963 AC Cobra 289 was the very epitome of the open sportscar. But like all thoroughbreds, the Cobra was something of a hybrid. In 1953, AC had launched the Ace, with its chassis designed by John Tojeiro and a body that was a carbon copy of the boat-shaped racing shell that Ferrari was using at the time. Until 1961, the Ace had led a rather quiet life. At first, it had been powered by a 6-cylinder AC engine designed in 1919. Later on it was given a Bristol 2-liter which was not much more up-to-date - a 6-cylinder BMW engine of 1933-37 vintage. But all this changed when an enterprising individual called Carroll Shelby came along and proceeded to completely transform the rather sedate Ace.
Shelby was a Texan who had been racing for years in Europe (mainly for Aston Martin) and had gone to settle in California. In 1961 AC found itself without an engine, Bristol having switched to the Chrysler V8. Shelby presented AC with an ideal, readymade solution; the new smallblock Ford V8. The Ford wasn't any heavier or more cumbersome than the old, heavily souped-up Bristol and could, without overexerting itself, turn out twice the horsepower. So, from 1962 onward the AC left the factory in Britain without an engine and headed west to the Californian workshop of engine-whiz Dr.Shelby. He proceeded to pack into each Cobra more power and more sex appeal than anyone had ever dreamed of.
The cockpit of the Cobra 289 was stripped to the bare essentials. By cutting back on accessories the makers were able to achieve the sort of power-to-weight ratio more usually associated with big superbikes. The Ford V8 engine developed at least twice the power of the original Bristol and was no heavier. The gearbox was also provided by Ford. Between 1962 and 1967, 630 Cobras were built, including 60 units powered by the 4.26-liter V8 (260). The AC steering system was soon replaced by rack-and-pinion steering copied from the MGB, and the English Smith instrumentation gave way, at Ford's insistence, to a set of dials by Stewart-Warner.
In its deadliest, most lethal form the Cobra 289 packed under its hood 330 horsepower. The 4.73-liter V8 Ford had at its disposal 4 dual-throat Weber carburetors, a special camshaft and larger diameter valves. Its top speed was more than 150 mph and it could cover the standing quarter mile in a shade over 14 seconds. At first, it was named the "Shelby AC Cobra" but soon it was simply known as the Cobra, the name which Carroll Shelby had long before chosen for his future sportscar. The phrase "powered by Ford" was added at the insistence of Ford's head office in Dearborn. The company was, after all, providing technical assistance as well as the engines."


The original Cobra was developed from the AC logo Ace, launched in 1953. The Ace was itself developed from a racer designed by John Tojeiro (who later gave his endorsement to the British DAX Cobra replica). It featured independent suspension by transverse leaf springs, Bristol power and Ferrari-inspired bodywork. The body style changed on the production Ace and power was by AC's alloy 1.991cc, ohc, six-cylinder; a well-known unit, originally designed by AC's founder, John Weller, in the 1920s.

Bristol's remarkable BMW-derived 1.971cc, 125 bhp+ six-cylinder became an option in 1956; the engine powered the Ace to many race victories around the world, including SCCA events in the US, where it won Class E championships three years running. Ken Rudd narrowly missed out on two British championships in his own Ace Bristol.

Bristol ceased engine production in 1959, leaving AC looking round for a new engine, and stopping the gap in the meantime with Ford power in the shape of the Zephyr 2.6 litre, a lifeless and rougher unit.

Fortunately the Ace-Bristol had been noticed by retiring race driver Carroll Shelby, who approached AC and Ford in 1961, with the idea of combining the AC chassis with Ford's new lightweight 260ci, 164 bhp V8. Production of the first aluminum-bodied Cobras, with strengthened Ace chassis and drive train, began in 1962. Engine size went up to 289ci in 1963 with the MkII - still leaf-sprung, mind, but with rack-and-pinion steering. That year a Cobra took seventh place at Le Mans. It was 1964 before AC started selling right-hand-drive customer cars, the rest having gone for export. In 1965, the year the Cobra finally took the FIA World Championship for Ford for the first time ever, the 425 bhp, 427ci (7-litre) Cobra MkIII was announced - a car capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 mph and stopping again all in under 14 seconds! For the 427, the chassis was strengthened and at last gained coil-springs. Customer- (as opposed to race-) specification 427s mostly came with the softer, heavier 428 engine but the exceptions were the 425 bhp 427 S/Cs, the schoolboy's wet-dream variant with side pipes, fat rear guards, bonnet scoop and oil cooler vent being the main distinguishing features.

Cobra 427 production stopped after Ford withdrew factory support from Shelby's racing programme in 1965, although AC kept building the AC 289 until 1968, using the 427 chassis with the 289 engine and wire wheels - and Cobras kept winning races well into the 1970s.

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dividing cylinder

IS A COBRA A COBRA?

It may at first seem confusing, but there are more than just the 260 / 289 and 427 variations of the Cobra.
Just as the AC Ace evolved into the Cobra 260, which became the 289 (with under-slung rear-exit exhaust pipes), later racing versions of the 289 required larger tyres to be fitted, hence the 289 FIA was born - complete with its flared wheel arches (typical of the later 427) and side-pipes, but still with the nose shape of the 'slab-sided' 260 / 289. The chassis and width of the original 289 would not permit a larger, more powerful engine, so the 427 was developed, which was also available in an even more potent version, the 427 S/C (Street/Competition) - which actually used a 428ci engine.

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dividing cylinder

CAN A REPLICA MATCH UP TO AN ORIGINAL COBRA?

Most 427 replicas (in Europe) are based on either Ford Granada or Jaguar XJ mechanicals. Whilst their handling is probably better than the original 289s (thanks to the donor vehicles' coil springs for the front and rear suspension, rather than the transverse leaf springs used on the original 289s), there is a heavy weight penalty to pay - most 427 replicas weigh in at around 1.400 kg, so unless equipped with about 475 bhp, cannot begin to approach the performance of the original 390 bhp Ford 428 cu.in (7.014 cc) 1150 kg street-version 427s (33.9 bhp per 100 kg).

The original 289s had a Ford 289 cu.in (4.727 cc) engine producing 271 bhp in road trim, and weighed in between 984 kg (27.5 bhp per 100 kg) and 1.045 kg (25.9 bhp per 100 kg) (so most 427 replicas will need at least 385 bhp to equal the power/weight ratio of an original road trim 289).

Most 289 replicas employ the simpler rear live axle and cart-spring suspension from the MGB / MGC, which provides more interesting handling, and also saves a lot of valuable weight over the optional independent rear suspension from the Granada or Jaguar donor vehicle. When powered by the lightweight aluminium Rover 278 cu.in (4.6 litre) V8 engine, a 289 replica weighs only 845 kg, so with a moderately tuned unit producing 240 bhp (28.4 bhp per 100 kg), the 289 replica can easily match the acceleration and performance of the original road-going 289s (as can be seen from the comparison table below) - and this performance is well in excess of all but the most exotic cars available even today.

289 SPECIFICATIONS
Instrument Panel

1962-1965 Shelby 289 BRA 289
Body type Two-seater roadster; all-aluminum Two-seater roadster; fibreglass
Chassis Twin-tube ladder frame with box-section suspension mountings and tubular superstructure Twin-tube ladder frame with box-section suspension mountings and tubular superstructure
Engine type Ford V8 Rover V8
Capacity 289 cu.in (4.736cc) / 260 cu.in (4.261cc) up to chassis no. CSX2074 278 cu.in (4.556cc)
Bore 4.0 in (101.6 mm) / 3.80 in (96.5 mm) 3.7 in (94.0 mm)
Stroke 2.87 in (72.9 mm) 3.3 in (83.9 mm)
Compression ratio 11.6:1 10.7:1
Cylinders Thin wall cast-iron block, five main bearings, single central camshaft Aluminium cross-bolted block, five main bearings, single central camshaft
Cylinder heads Cast-iron, two valves per cylinder, operated by pushrods Aluminium alloy, two valves per cylinder, operated by pushrods
Fuel system Single four-barrel Holley carburettor (four twin-choke down-draught Weber carburetors optional) Single four-barrel Holley or Weber carburettor
Maximum power 271 bhp @ 6,000 rpm / (260 bhp @ 5,800 rpm for 260 cu.in) 240 bhp @ 5,300 rpm
Maximum torque 314 lb.ft (426 Nm) @ 3,400 rpm / (269 lb.ft (365 Nm) @ 4,800 rpm for 260 cu.in) 273 lb.ft (370 Nm) @ 3,500 rpm
Bhp per litre. 57.2 (0.94 bhp per cubic inch) / 61.0 (1.0 bhp per cubic inch for 260 cu.in) 52.2 (0.85 bhp per cubic inch)
Gearbox type Borg-Warner four-speed manual, all synchromesh Rover Vitesse five-speed manual, all synchromesh
Gear ratios Fifth: n/a
Fourth: 1:00
Third: 1.78
Second: 1.41
First: 2.36
Reverse: 2:36 		Fifth: 0.792
Fourth: 1:00
Third: 1.396
Second: 2.087
First: 3.321
Reverse: 3.428
Final drive ratio 3.77:1 (numerous options available) 3.07:1
Top gear 20.5 mph (32.8 kph) per 1000 rpm 32.0 mph (51.3 kph) per 1000 rpm
Clutch Single dry plate, hydraulic operation Single 9½ in dry plate, hydraulic operation
Front suspension Independent, lower wishbones and transverse leaf-spring upper link, telescopic dampers Independent, lower wishbones and coil-springs, adjustable telescopic dampers
Rear suspension Independent, lower wishbones and transverse leaf-spring upper link, telescopic dampers Live axle with longitudinal leaf-springs, adjustable telescopic dampers
Brakes Solid discs front and rear Solid discs front, drums rear
Steering Rack-and-pinion (worm-and-sector up to chassis no. CSX2125) Rack-and-pinion
Wheels & tyres 6J x 15 in (15.2 x 381 mm) centre-lock wire wheels; 7.35 x 15 cross-ply or 185 x 15 in radial tyres 6J x 15 in (15.2 x 381 mm) centre-lock wire wheels; 225/60ZR15 radial tyres
Overall length 151.5 in (3848 mm) 155 in (3937 mm)
Overall width 61.0 in (1549 mm) 62.0 in (1574 mm)
Overall height 49.0 in (1244 mm) 49.0 in (1244 mm)
Wheelbase 90.0 in (2286 mm) 90.0 in (2286 mm)
Track Front: 51.5 in (1308 mm) Rear: 52.5 in (1333 mm) Front: 52.5 in (1333 mm) Rear: 52.5 in (1333 mm)
Ground clearance 5.0 in (127 mm) 5.0 in (127 mm)
Fuel tank capacity 15.0 gall. (18.0 US gall.) (68 litres) 24.2 gall. (29.1 US gall.) (110 litres)
Unladen weight 2170 lb (984 kg) 1865 lb (846 kg)
Power-to-weight ratio 279.7 bhp per ton 288.1 bhp per ton
Maximum speed 138 mph (222 kph) >135 mph (>215 kph)
0-60 mph
(0-96.5 kph) 		5.5 seconds 5.3 seconds
0-100 mph
(0-161 kph) 		13.0 seconds ?? seconds
Standing
¼-mile 		13.9 seconds ?? seconds
Fuel consumption 15.1 mpg 22.8 mpg

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CHASSIS NUMBERING EXPLAINED

BUILT BY AC IN ENGLAND







BUILT BY SHELBY IN THE US


OTHERS






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Shelby (5 Kb)
And a quote from the man himself, Carroll Shelby .....

We began building the Cobra in 1962, we had no idea what we were starting. Who knew that it would grow into the legend that it has today? Hell, I just thought we were building a few production cars to help finance our racing. Racing is what we were all about and that's what we did best.

We had many great people at Shelby American, mechanics, drivers, and support staff, and they performed incredible tasks under the most adverse conditions. I think we had the finest group of people ever gathered together in one small company. We were very close, all friends, and most of us still stay in touch today. Our Venice operations was special, and when we moved to the airport in 1965, the true spirit of Shelby American died and we lost a lot of good people.

Shelby signature (1 Kb)

SOME LITTLE KNOWN FACTS ABOUT THE MAN BEHIND THE COBRA:-

(based on the Cobra Club Nederland web site list, written by Jerry Heasley, with thanks to Rick Kopeck and the Shelby American Automobile Club for their help in providing some of the historic information presented here, as well as Carroll Shelby who added points never before published. Used by permission of Carroll Shelby: http://www.carrollshelby.com )

January 11, 1923 Leesburg, Texas. Carroll Hall Shelby is born to Warren Hall Shelby, a rural mail carrier, and Eloise Lawrence Shelby.
November 1941. Begins training at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, TX. On training missions, Carroll corresponds with his fiancee by dropping love letters placed in his flying boots, onto her farm. As a flight instructor, he did not leave the U.S. during WW II.
December 18, 1943. Carroll Shelby marries Jeanne Fields.
December 27, 1944. Sharon Anne Shelby is born.
August 1945. Carroll leaves the Air Corps for civilian life and starts a dump truck business in Dallas, Texas.
November 2, 1946. Michael Hall Shelby is born.
October 23, 1947. Patrick Burke Shelby is born.
1949. Carroll goes into the chicken raising business. His first batch of broilers nets a $5000 profit, but he goes bankrupt when his second group of chickens die of Limberneck disease.
1952. Ford begin a development programme for a new lightweight small-block engine (VS).
January 1952. Carroll drives in his first race, a quarter-mile drag meet, behind the wheel of a hot rod fitted with a flathead Ford V8.
May 1952. At Norman, Oklahoma, Carroll drives in his first road race behind the wheel of an MG-TC, taking first place in competition with other MGs. The same day, against hotter competition from Jaguar XK 120s, he wins again!
November 1952. Carroll Shelby pilots a Cad-Allard to first place in an early SCCA race on a road racing course set up near the little town of Cadd Mills, TX.
August 1953. Carroll Shelby realizes he'll have to hurry to the track to get in any practice and wears his work clothes-coveralls-from the farm. When his odd racing attire nets him more laughts and publicity than his racing record, Carroll sticks with the striped bib coveralls, which become his trademark.
October 1953. A new car, the AC Ace, is unveiled at the Earls Court Motor Show in London - the car uses a twin-tube chassis designed by John Tojeiro.
January 1954. Shelby attracts the attention of John Wyer, Aston Martin's team manager and meets International Grand Prix driving greats Juan Ganglo and Peter Collins. On the strength of Shelby's racing expertise behind the wheel of the Cad-Allard, Wyer Invites shelby to co-drive an Aston Martin DB3 at Sebring, Florida.
April 1954. Shelby goes to Europe and drives an Aston-Martin DBR3 for Wyer, finishing a very respectable second against C-Type Jags at Aintree, leading to a ride with the Aston-Martin team at Le Mans in June 1954, co-driving with Paul Frére. Shelby continues to race Aston-Martins in Europe for 1954, returning to the States in August.
August 1954. Donald Healey of Austin-Healey in England, invites Carroll Shelby to help set 70 new Class D records at the Bonneville Saft flats in Utah.
November 1954. Carroll Shelby enters the Carrera Pan Americana Mexico. At the 175-kilometer marker north of Oaxaca, Shelby T-bones a large rock and flips his Austin-Healey four times. Indians find him and offer him strong drinks to ease the pain of his broken bones, cuts, contusions, and a shattered elbow.
March 1955. Althought Shelby was still undergoing operations to recover from his racing accident, he continued to race with his arm in a specially made fiberglass cast and his hand taped to the steering wheel. At Sebring, Shelby co-drives a 3.0-liter Monza Ferrari with Phil Hill.
July 1955. Shelby wins the Torrey Pines race with a 4.1-liter Mexico Ferrari, defeating Phil Hill. Tony Paravano, a building contractor in Los Angeles takes notice and asks Shelby to drive a new 4.9-liter 12-cylinder Ferrari. Shelby wins in his first outing and is then asked to go to Europe to race.
1956 . Sports Illustrated names Shelby sports car driver of the year.
1956 . AC Ace is available with a Bristol six-cylinder engine.
Early 1957. Carroll Shelby Sports Cars opens at 5611 Yales in Dalles, Texas, with backing from Dick Hall, an oilman from Abilena, Texas, and brother of Jim Hall who built the Chararral cars.
March 1957. Sports illustrated names Shelby "Driver of the year".
November 1957. Shelby, driving a double-overhead-camshaft V8 Maserati single-seat racing car, wins a 100-mile race at Riverside. After spinning out on the first lap, he went to the back of the field, then lapped everybody in one of the most amazing feats of his career.
June 1959. Carroll and Ray Salvadori co-drive an Aston Martin DBR1/300 and win the 24 Hours of LeMans.
January 1960 . Carroll Shelby begins his last racing season in a Maserati 250F Formula One Grand Prix car formely driven by Fangio at Rheims in 1958.
February 1960. While staying at a friend's apartment in Dallas, Shelby experiences chest pains and begins slipping nitroglycerin pills under his tongue for relief. His doctor incorrectly diagnoses the problem unrelated to the heart. Carroll moves to La Mirada, California, and separates from his wife, Jeanne, who stays in Dallas with the three kids. Shelby opens his Goodyear Racing Tire distributorship.
May 1960. Doctors diagnose Shelby's chest pains as "angina pectoralis", in which the coronary arteries are starved for blood.
June 27, 1960. Carroll Shelby, driving a Scarab to first place at Continental Divide Raceways, breaks a course record and sets his sights on the USAC driving championship.
December 3-4, 1960. Shelby competes in his last race, the Third Annual Los Angeles Rimes-Mirror Grand Prix for sports cars at Riverside, driving a Type 61 Birdcage Maserati, and finishing fifth. He wins the overall USAC driving championship for 1960.
1961 Out of racing, Shelby pursues another career and opens his 'Shelby School of High Performance Driving'. A $90 ad in Sports Car Graphic returns $1400 in request for literature. Pete Brock, a talented automotive designer, stylist, and driver prepares the curriculum and helps with the teaching duties.
March 1961. Supplies to AC of the Bristol engine are threatened, as Bristol switch to Chrysler power. Ford Zephyr six-cylinder engine is tested as an alternative for the Ace.
September 1961. When AC Cars of Thames Ditton, England, loses the source for its six-cylinder Bristol engine for its two-seat roadster, Carroll Shelby airmails a letter of proposal to the company to keep building the chassis for a special Shelby sports car to be powered by an American V8. As yet, he knows nothing of a new lightweight, thinwall-cast, small-block Ford V8.
October 1961. Charles Hurlock, owner of AC Cars, returns Shelby's letter, stating he would be interested in Shelby's plan as long as a suitable engine replacement could be found in the States. The same month, Shelby finds out about the new 221-cube Ford small-block and dispatches a letter to Dave Evans explaining his idea for a sports car and his need for a V8.
November 1961. The first Ford lightweight V8 engines are delivered to AC via Shelby.
Winter 1961/1962. AC and Shelby work together on the first Cobra prototype in Thames Ditton, London.
January 1962. The prototype Cobra runs for the first time at Silverstone, probably with a 221cu.in engine.
February 1962. The first 260 Roadster (CSX2000), minus engine and transmission, is airfreighted on February 2, 1962 to Shelby's shop at Sante Fe Springs in Southern California. Carroll has a dream revealing to him the name Cobra appearing on the front of his car. In Carroll's words, "I woke up and jotted the name down on a pad which I kept by my bedside - a sort of ideas pad - and went back to sleep. Next morning when I looked at the name 'Cobra', I knew it was right. In less than eight hours, a 260 HiPo and Borg-Warner four-speed are installed at Riverside, and Shelby and friend Dean Moon test drive the new Cobra, looking to bait Corvettes, but none are found.
March 1962. Shelby-American begins operations at a shop on Princeton Drive in Venice, California, and hires Ray Geddes, a Ford finance business school graduate who comes aboard at Shelby-American to coordinate the program with Ford. Among his first duties are his efforts to keep Ford's involvement at a low profile due to Ford's liability concerns.
April 1962. CSX 2000, the first Cobra, is painted a pearlescent yellow by Dean Jeffries and shipped to the New York Auto Show where it appears in the Ford display. Dealers begin ordering and with deposits in the bank, Shelby-American formally commits to building its new Cobra.
May 1962. Shelby promotes his Cobra by offering test drives to the automotive press, who respond with superlatives. The May 1962 issue of Sports Car Graphic describes its acceleration as explosive. CSX 2001 (the second Cobra built) is shipped by air from England (minus engine, transmission, and rear end) to New York and is prepared by Ed Hugas in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. CSX 2002 is air freighted to Los Angeles and built into the first competition Cobra.
June 1962 Production is slow as Shelby-American wrestles with start-up problems due to the fact that the AC chassis requires extensive engineering. Meanwhile, CSX 2000 is repainted a different color each time a different magazine test drives it, giving the appearance of many cars in production. The Cobra has a 1-ton advantage over the Corvette.
August 1962 . Shelby-American submits papers to homologate the Cobra as a GT III car in the eyes of the FIA, the Federeation Internationale de L'Automobile. On August 6, the FIA homologates the Cobra in the more-than 2-liter class for the FIA Manufacturers' Championship. At least 100 cars had to be built within 12 months, but at the time of approval, just eight Cobras had been completed. According to Carroll, he contemplated switching the chassis and body to an alternative due to continued problems.
October 13, 1962. Shelby-American enters the Cobra in its first race, a three-hour contest with Bill Krause behind the wheel, opening the Los Angeles Times Grand Prix at Riverside. Krause, with a poor start, falls back, then takes the lead at lap nine, but breaks a rear hub and does not finish. The Cobra, however, is definitely lighter and faster than the new Corvette Stingray. Phil Remington at Shelby-American goes to work building stronger rear hubs starting with forging blanks from Halibrand.
January 1963. Dave MacDonald and Ken Miles sign to drive Cobras for Shelby-American and place first and second at Riverside, beating the Corvette Stingrays. Miles is so confident, he pits for a drink of water and relaps the Corvettes to finish behind MacDonald. Ian Garrad, an Englishman living Southern California, feels he could imitate the Cobra with a 260 Ford version of the little four-cylinder British Sunbeam Alpine roadster. Ken Miles is first hired to build a prototype "Tiger", a job that is handed over to Shelby-American.
The first Cobra 289 is built (CSX2075).
February 1963 . Shelby-American arrives at Daytona for its first international competition. The Ferrari GTO triumphs, after Daytona, Chevrolet drops out of racing.
March 1963. The first rack-and-pinion steering Cobra is produced (CSX2127).
Shelby-American enters four cars at Sebring, Florida, an FIA race. Two of the four have the new rack-and-pinion steering - driven by Dan Gurney and Phil Hill. Although Hill sets the fastest GT lap, the Ferraris win.
June 1963. Shelby-American completes its first 125 Cobras.
Because Ford refuses to finance a Cobra Le Mans effort, Shelby puts together a deal with AC Cars and Ed Hugus, who prepare one car each. The top Cobra finishes seventh, the other retired.
September 1963. Shelby begins the Daytona Coupe project, for the roadster lacks he aerodynamics necessary for 200mph down the Mulsanne Straight. Pete Brock is the designer, Cobra production passes 170. The first Cooper Monacos - King Cobra - are ordered. Dan Gurney, in winning the Bridgehampton 500 km in a Cobra, becomes the first American driver to win an FIA race in an American car.
October 1963. The AC Ace ceases production, and the first 427-engined Cobra prototype is built.
November 1963 . The Cobra does not beat Ferrari in international competition in 1963, it dominates the Corvette and wins the SCCA A-production national championchip.
The first right-hand-drive Cobra is delivered to UK.
December 1963. The Cobra wins the USRRC (United States Road Racing Championship).
February 1964. Shelby-American completes the first 289 FIA roadster and the first 289 Daytona Coupe (CSX2257), both enter the Daytona Continental. Bob Johnson and Dan Gurney finish fourth in a Cobra 289 FIA roadster. Although the 289 Daytona Coupe sets the fastest lap time, it did not finish due to a damaged differential and a fire.
March 1964. Shelby-American enters a 427-engine leaf-spring Cobra, CSX 2166, at Sebring to the prototype class. Ken Miles spins off course in practice and hits the one tree in sight, but the 427 test mule is fixed for the race the next day. The Cobras, for the first time, beat the Ferrari GTOs. At Sebring, Carroll Shelby meets with the Hurlock Brothers from AC Cars and Ford design engineer Klaus Arning to develop a big-block Cobra.
April 1964. After Sebring, Cobra led Ferrari in FIA points for the GT III championship, and Shelby-American decides to go to Europe to race. Two months before Le Mans, the Sarthe circuit is closed off for testing. The Cobras and Ford's new GT-40 are tested at Le Mans. Later, on April 26, the Cobra compete at the Targa Floria. Oddly, the new Porsche 904s triumph over Ferrari, followed by the Cobra.
AC test their own 259 Coupe at Le Mans, on leaf-spring chassis A59.
June1964. The Cobras and Shelby-American win the biggest race of all in Europe, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 289 Daytona Coupe is fourth overall and first in GT, defeating Ferrari.
August 1964. Ford asks Carroll Shelby to develop a high-performance Mustang fastback for street and track. Basically, the new car would challenge the Corvette in SCCA B-production road racing. The Cobras score in Europe at the Freiburg Hill climb in the Black Forest, at the Tourist Trophy in Goodwood, England, and at Sierre-Montana Grand Prix De La Montagne in the Swiss Alps.
September 1964. The first '65 Shelby mustang GT350 race cars and street cars are built.
October 1964. The prototype 427 Cobra, under development, is tested at Silverstone in England and later in the States.
November 1964. Shelby-American completes the 427 Cobra prototype. The 289 Cobra Roadster again wins the SCCA A-production national championship.
Leaf-spring chassis production for export is stopped.
December 1964. The SCCA accepts the GT350 in the B-production road racing class, as cars are being completed at the Venice, California shop of Shelby-American. Enzo Ferrari holds his annual press conference and announces he will not contest the GT III championship without his LM Ferrari, in effect, giving no factory Ferrari competition to the Cobra team for the upcoming 1965 FIA season.
The 289 Daytona Coupe took three GT Class wins during 1964.
The second flip-top 427 prototype (CSX2195) makes its debut with Ken Miles at the Nassau Speed Week.
January 1965. The 427 Cobra, featuring a tube frame, aluminum body, and coil-spring chassis (from CSX3001 upwards) is unveiled at a press introduction at Riverside International Raceway. Shelby-American begins its move to Los Angeles International Airport facility. Ford turns its GT-40 project over to Shelby-American. The 1965 GT350 debuts.
February 1965. With Shelby handling the racing program, Ford's GT-4, painted in Shelby Guardsman Blue with two white stripes, wins its first race, at Daytona. The Shelby Mustang GT350 also wins its first race, at Green Valley, Texas. Shelby-American begins production of its Ferrari-beating missile, the coupe version of the 427 Cobra Roadster. At Daytona, the Cobra Daytona Coupe, with Jo Schlesser and Harold Keck driving is first in the GT class.
March 1965. Production of the GT350 moves to Los Angeles International Aiport after the first 250 cars are completed. The GT-40 Mark II (427 big-block) is under development. Jo Schlesser and Bob Bondurant pilot the Cobra Daytona Coupe to first overall in the Sebring 12-Hours.
Leaf-spring chassis production is stopped - after 655 cars have been built.
Work begins on a 427 'Super-Coup' (CSX3054), but the project is abandoned until completed by a private owner in 1980.
April 1965. The Cobra team flies to Europe to continue its winning season. With team Ferrari out of the picture, Shelby-American dominating. Bondurant and Grant are first at Monza, Italy, in the Daytona Coupe. Meanwhile, the FIA denies the 427 Cobra certification because 100 cars are not finished. The first 427 street Cobra is finished.
May 1965. At Oulton Park, England, Sir John Whitmore takes first in the GT class in a Cobra 289 Daytona Coupe. Bondurant is second in a Coupe at Spa, Belgium. Back home, the first GT350 drag car is built.
June 1965. Shelby-American and Ford stage an assault on Le Mans with two 427 GT-40 Mark IIs, four 289 GT-40 Mark Is, five Cobra Daytona Coupes. The GT-40s all drop out, while one Daytona Coupe finishes.
July 4, 1965. Shelby-American, racing Cobras at the 12 Heures De Reims in France, scores enough points to assure the FIA World Championship of GT cars, wrestling the title virtually owned by Ferrari for more than a decade. The Paxton supercharger GT350 prototype is completed.
August 1965. Production of the '66 GT350 is underway. The first 15 competition 427 Cobras are delivered to customers for SCCA A-production racing.
October 1965. The brand-new '66 GT350 Shelby fastbacks go on sale, and Shelby-American proposes a special Hertz racer. A prototype GT350H is built.
AC showed the Frua-bodied 428 at the Earls Court Motor Show in London.
November 1965. Hertz likes the GT350H and gives Shelby-American a contract for 200 cars. The FIA certifies the 427 for the 1966 racing season, and the '66 GT350 again wins the national B-production road racing championship in the SCCA.
December 1965. Hertz ups its contract for GT350H models to 1000 units.
The 289 Daytona Coupe won the World Manufacturers' Championship for GT cars, with six GT Class wins.
February 1966. The Ford GT-40 Mark II wins at Daytona. Shelby-American builds a Mustang notchback prototype for the brand-new Trans-Am racing series.
May 1966. AC start producing a 289-engined version of the coil-spring chassis for the European market.
June 1966. Henry Ford II watches proudly as a trio of GT-40 Mark IIs cross the finish line at Le Mans, 1-2-3. The specifications for the '67 GT350 and new GT500 are finalized.
August 1966. Ken Miles is killed at Riverside International Raceway.
September 1966. 1967 production begins at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport). Jerry Titus wins at Riverside and Ford wins the Trans-Am Manufacturer's title.
November 1966. The first of the '67 Shelby GT350s and GT500s are delivered to dealers nationwide.
March 1967. The last 427 Cobra Roadster is built.
June 1967. Ford again wins at Le Mans with its Mark IV GT-40.
August 1967. Shelby-American loses the lease on its LAX facility.
September 1967. Production of '68 Shelby Mustang moves to Ionia, Michigan, and the A.O. Smith Company. The Lone Star, to be the successor to the Cobra, constructed in England by John Wyer's JW Automotive Engineering.
October 1967. Shelby-American takes the '67 Trans-Am Manufacturer's title for Ford. Shelby-American completes construction of a Cougar-Cobra Can-Am racing car.
November 1967. Shelby-American racing moves to Torrance, California, as '68 Shelby production begins. The '68 Shelby Mustang convertible joins the lineup. Shelby holds his first Chill cook-off.
February 1968. Five special long-wheelbase chassis are built for Paramount Pictures.
June 1968. The '69 Shelby GTs are finalized. Again, a GT-40 takes first place at Le Mans.
August 1968. The last brand-new 427 Cobra Roadster is sold by Shelby.
September 1968. Shelby opens a Ford dealership in Lake Tahoe, California.
October 1968. The only Lone Star is offered for sale for $15.000, the price it was to retail for if it had made production.
November 1968. The 1969-model year Shelby Mustang production begins.
February 1969. The final coil-spring car is completed, after a total of 348 have been built.
May 1969. At Lime Rock, in the Trans-Am racing series, Sam Posey pilots a Shelby team car to the company's last Ford victory.
Eight 427-type coil-spring chassis cars are built by AC for a US electric car project, on chassis EFX501 to 505. Some are later converted into 427 replicas.
August 1969. Carroll Shelby begins marketing his famous Chili mix.
September 1969. The Shelby Mustang project is ended as sales slow dramatically. The leftover '69 models are updated to '70 specifications and production ends.
October 1969. At Riverside, in the Trans-Am, Shelby fields his last Ford team race car.
December 1969. Shelby Automotive Racing Company closes.
February 1970. Ford ends its longterm racing agreement with Carroll Shelby.
January 1973. The Shelby-Dowd Wheel Company is started.
September 1975. The Shelby-American Automobile Club (SAAC) is started.
August 19-21, 1976. SAAC-1, the first annual convention of the Shelby Automobile Club of America is held in Oakland, California. About 600 people attend. It's the first time since the Sixties that Carroll Shelby gets together with his team drivers, such as Lew Spencer and Bob Bondurant.
1980. Autokraft (built up from the remains of AC) introduce the Mk.4, based on the original coil-spring Cobra chassis and using the original tooling for the bodywork.
February 1982. Autokraft are granted the rights to use the small AC logo (2 Kb) logo on their Mk.4. Soon afterwards, Brian Angliss bought a controlling interest in AC Cars.
October 1982. Carroll Shelby contracts with Chrysler to create performance cars based on Dodge products.
November 1982. Prototype Dodge Shelby Chargers are built and displayed.
July 1986. Shelby sells his chili company to Kraft.
October 1987. Ford purchase a controlling interest in AC Cars from Brian Angliss.
April 1988. Shelby sues Ford for using GT350 for its '84 Anniversary Mustang.
January 1989. The Viper is first shown at the Detriot Automobile Show. Shelby is there.
November 1989. Shelby begins his 427 Cobra S/C project, continuing production of "leftover" S/C models from 1966.
March 1990. Ford announce its intentions to close AC Cars, but Brian Angliss fights the decision, and continues building the AC Mk.4 Cobra. The lawsuit with Ford is resolved.
June 1990. Carroll Shelby receives the heart of a 38-year-old gambler from Las Vegas in a long-awaited and overdue transplant operation.
August 10, 1990. Carroll Shelby marries Helena Dahl, his present wife, in Beverly Hills, California.
May 1991. Less than a year after his transplant, a hale and hearty Carroll Shelby paces the Indy 500 in a Dodge Viper. Shelby takes the physical exam and doctors say his heart is as strong as the drivers in the front row of the race.
September 1991. Carroll Shelby starts the Shelby Heart Fund. Donations can be mailed to Dept. MF, 19021 S. Figueroa St., Gardena, CA 90248.
November 1991. The Palm Springs Vintage Road Races feature the cars of Shelby-American and honor Carroll with a dinner featuring his life long buddies and friends. Proceeds go to the Shelby Heart Fund.
July 1992. At SAAC-17 (17th annual convention of the Shelby American Automobile Club), Carroll Shelby gives club members high-speed rides around the racetrack in his new 427 S/C Cobra.
September 1992. At the Fall Festival at Lime Rock, Shelby races a '65 Shelby "R" model GT350 for the first time, a car belonging to SAAC's Rick Kopec. Shelby, now 69 years old, runs 1:09 lap times, just 0.4 second off the record set in '65 by Bob Johnson in a '65 R-model Shelby.
October 1, 1992. Carroll Hall Shelby is elected to the Automotive Hall of Fame in ceremonies at the Westin Hotel in Detroit, Michigan.
December 30, 1992. Shelby helps introduce the Viper concept coupe at the Los Angeles Show.
1993. Shelby came to the UK both to launch the European branch of his heart foundation and to give his seal of approval to the Cobra replicas produced by RAM Automotive in Essex. These are (as far as I know) the ONLY Shelby approved replicas, and as such are allowed to use the Shelby name, and carry chassis numbers starting with CSX4001.
September 3, 1997. Following the tragic death of Helena Dahl in a motoring accident a few years earlier, Shelby got married to Cleo Rendell-Roberts in Las Vegas. Carroll and Cleo met a few years ago at Silverstone, and she owns a 35-room castle near Stratford-On-Avon in England, and enjoys her cars (including a Jaguar and Lamborghini) as much as Carroll does, so added a real Shelby to her collection.

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NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT .....

* The 289 had an aluminium bodyshell.

* A prototype AC 289 Daytona Coupe was clocked at 183 mph on public roads in UK (along the M1, just north of London) whilst testing for the '24 Heures de Le Mans' in 1964. The press got hold of this story, and as a direct result of the ensuing outrage, the Goverment introduced a 'temporary' 70 mph speed limit, which is still in force 37 years later.

* The 289 used a steering rack from an MGB, as do most of the current replicas.

* Shelby's original choice for what became the Cobra in September 1961 was a fibreglass bodyshell using the lightweight aluminium Buick 215 cubic inch (3.5 litre) V8 engine which first went into production in 1961. The engine was known as the Fireball V8 in Buick and Pontiac cars, and Oldsmobile used a slightly different version called the Rockette. The basic Fireball delivered 155 bhp at 4,800 rpm and produced 210 lbs/ft torque, but the 1963 Oldsmobile Jetfire used a turbocharged version of the Buick V8 (after the Chevrolet Corvair Monza, this was one of the first turbocharged production cars ever made). However, the original V8 engine was a bit of a damp squib in its homeland, where manufacturers soon reverted to conventional cast-iron blocks, and production there ceased after only three years and about 750,000 units. The Rover Car Company liked it, though, and bought the manufacturing rights from General Motors in 1965. In 1978, Buick developed a turbocharged 231 cu.in V6 engine from this old V8, which in 245 bhp form was used to power the stonking Buick Grand National - the fastest-accelerating American production car of the 1980s, easily capable of dispatching the much-vaunted Corvette. This V6 engine was supercharged in 1995, since when it has powered a number of Buick and Pontiac saloons, and could be said to be the most popular supercharged engine in the world.
In 1967, the Rover V8 engine made its first UK appearance in the Rover 3.5 Litre, followed by the Rover 3500 in 1968, the Range Rover in 1970, the MGB GT V8 in 1972, the Rover SD1 and Land Rover V8 in 1979 and the (US only) Triumph TR8 about a year later. The engine has been developed continuously by Rover since they first acquired it. The first incarnations put out between 140 and 160 bhp. Significant mainstream developments have been the fuel-injected SD1 Vitesse engine (improved cylinder head design), the 3.9 litre Range Rover/MG RV8 engine (increase to 94mm bore), the 1972 4.2 litre Range Rover LSE (77mm stroke), the 1994 Serpentine engine, and has since been increased in capacity from 4.5 litre through 4.6 litre, 4.8 litre right up to 5.0 litre. The Rover V8 engine is the darling of UK small volume manufacturers (such as TVR, Marcos and Ginetta), and is often fitted to fibreglass Cobra replicas.

* Virgil Exner attempted to regenerate the long-dormant Mercer at the 1966 Geneva Salon, to deafening silence. The former Chrysler man and Virgil Jr were responsible for the 'neo-classical' styling with extensive brass and copper brightwork.

Mercer Cobra (46 Kb)

Fortunately, this gruesome device, based on an AC Cobra frame and bodied by Sibonia & Bassano of Turin, remained unique.

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289 Prototype ( Kb)
Carroll Shelby behind the wheel, with Joan Cole (his Secretary) in the passenger seat of the Cobra 289 prototype at Riverside Raceway in March 1962. This was one of the first public appearances of the car, which did demonstration runs between races.

289 Prototype ( Kb)
Carroll Shelby behind the wheel, with Alan Fordney in the passenger sear. Alan was the race announcer, and was also in the movie "Grand Prix", playing the part of an announcer, of course.

Ken Miles in 289 ( Kb)
Ken Miles at the Riverside Raceway in January 1963. Miles and Cobra teammate Dave MacDonald left the Corvette Stingrays in the dust at this event. MacDonald won easily, while Miles stopped at the pits to let all the Stingrays go by, then returned to the course and repassed them all. He finished second.

Ron Cummings remembers this race:
"After jumping into an early lead, Miles pitted for no reason. He let the entire field go by before re-entering the race. The crowd was jumping up and down as he stunned the Chevrolet drivers by easily passing the entire field to finish second behind MacDonald's other team Cobra. The Corvette people were completely demoralized."

The above information came from Tam McPartland

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