I can't help but beat my nationalistic drum a tad here.
The "pre-cobra" AC Ace was NOT just some ailing little no-mark British sports car. In fact, in the very same 1959 Le Mans race where Shelby co-drove the winning Aston Martin with Salvadori, an Ace-Bristol won the 2 litre class. This was a hastily-prepared, 3 year-old, lady-owner road car. It was driven to the circuit, raced, winning it's class, then driven back to the UK, and returned to its lady owner.
In fact, AC Ace-Bristols won all sorts of championships "before Shelby" - 1957 SCCA class E championship, even the 1960 class D SCCA championship because the car was too successful in class E. Nota Bene - those are American championships!
1957 Sebring 12 hour.
1957 Monthlery Coupe de Salon. (2 liter class)
And distinction in others world-wide.
How do you think that Shelby, who was working the European race circuits at the same time, spotted it's success and started to think what it might do with a decent engine?
I want to detract absolutely nothing from Shelby's cobra creation, but when I see the AC cars dismissed as some kind of non-relevant failure I get a tad irritated. Let's accept the roots of the car for what they really were.
Also, as noted above, the nose cone had gestated ( in the Ace Ruddspeed 2.6) to that now well-known and loved from the early cobra days BEFORE the cobra was born.
Guys - throw me a bone here will ya? Shelby created the Cobra, but we Brits created the basis for it. It was this already race-proven car which, in conjunction with the Ford new sb engine, became the Cobra. And yes, I know the frame and other parts needed upgrading to cope with the torque and power of the new engine. Not surprising really.
Ok, nationalistic fervour over, normal service resumed.
