[REAL 1]

Avanti176: Nice post. Well said.

Buzz: You are right. AC did make Cobras to the specs developed by Shelby in 289 and 427 deriviative. They were indeed called AC Cobras in England as they were permitted to be called, through licensing permission from Shelby and Ford which has long been taken away.

A car company or a talented group of guys (ie..Kirkhams) can always physically copy the specs and the car down to the smallest detail. Its the licensing rights that make can the product a genuine Shelby or Cobra. A talented group of guys could copy and build a 1967 Corvette but the only genuine Corvettes are those with the legal Corvette badge and title from Cheverolet.

Those AC Cobras built and licensed as Cobras in the 60's are still Cobras today because they legitmately hold the name. The new Autokraft MkIII's are not Cobras because legally they can no longer carry the title and the name.

As to what is REAL, it comes down to legalities. Its that simple. The only genuine Cobras are those that legitimately wear the coveted badge and CSX vin#.