[rodneym]

I’d like to say that I saw my first Cobra as a 7 year old kid. But these cars lived and died (figuratively speaking, of course) before I was born. I would also like to say that I’m a Cobra fan because my dad had one, but…..well, he was a GM man. Ford was his dad’s car. Chevy was for the younger generation. After all, Fangio raced Chevys (in Argentina) when my dad was a little kid. No Ford Blue in my blood. And when my dad was finished climbing the brand ladder with GM, he indulged in a couple Alfas, one of which was a 1975 red Montreal. I can still remember him arriving home for the first time. Che macchina!
As a teenager I spent a fair amount of time reading about Ferraris and Maseratis. I built models of them as best I could and even attempted to crunch some numbers on a real one (let’s see, if I stay single and forgo a house, I might be able to afford a 288 GTO!). I won’t bore anyone with my 20’s and 30’s but later in life I found myself with something I had never had before, ‘disposable income’. Alas! A used 550 Maranello? A gently used Maserati GranSport? Still pretty steep. I found the Lotus Elise more fun anyway. Then in my journey I discovered Cobras and the replica market (whew). After test driving and renting those cars (and more), I drove a Superformance Cobra with a Supercharged Roush. Wow. Needless to say, the entire experience put the other cars to shame. The sound, raw power, wind and timeless shape!
After I dealt with the dirty ‘R’ word, I came across the history of a man whose name I had known mostly for being on Dodge hatchbacks in the 80’s. I admired the audacity of a man from humble beginnings, taking on the biggest name in racing, and winning! It reminds me of what people can do when they put their minds to it, how piss and vinegar can cause more drive than anything, and what national pride used to look like. We sit down at our keyboards and bicker about the details but Carroll Shelby did it! He’s the real deal. I’m in awe of him. And if I ever meet him I’m going to tell him how thankful I am for his efforts.