[Trevor Legate]

Real1 etc

This is such an old 'discussion' that it gets a bit boring after a while - I can well understand that for car nuts within the USA the contribution of AC is VERY easily overlooked/ignored since the Shelby saga has entered motoring folklore and some little bitty English car company has no place in that tale of victory.
BUT - you have to understand that my introduction to Cobra was when my friend and I piled into his Minivan and went on pilgrimage to a little village called Thames Ditton where we stood slack-jawed in front of a large glass window behind which was a guardsman blue AC289 Cobra mit de optional hardtop and wire wheels - the best thing I have ever seen on wheels. And, sorry to say, it had AC badges and no mention of Shelby anywhere. So in this country, it was an AC Cobra. In the US it was a Shelby. You say tom-ato, I say tomarto, but whichever way you slice it, it's still a Cobra, no matter what the badge. Thus the Americans cannot understand the AC thing, just as in the UK the Shelby name has only a fraction of the kudos it has in your neck of the woods. (You could write a book about it...oh sorry.) As I said before, CS knows and is happy to accept the 'joint project' concept. Other people do not.

Since then, much of the hype and hot air that has expanded the Legend has its roots in seeing the value of the cars increase (I see that an ex-team car has just sold for a sum in excess of $2.1 million - coincidence?). In the same way, the Shelby legend has been promoted for financial reasons. The winning of the GT category of the FIA Championship was ignored in 1965. (They were the ONLY works team) CS was banned from all races after Sebring and Daytona (apart from Le Mans) so was not there to see his car win the championship at Rouen. Does anyone want to know why? 'Course not. But as is commonly accepted by those in the know (huh SAAC?), the best Cobra was the AC289 MkIII. But that fails to fit the legend of the manic 427, so we'll overlook that. To coin a phrase, there are lies, damn lies and statistics, and the ShelbyACCobra story is awash with all of those.

427

Alan Turner is a fount of knowledge but, in his mid-80's is not in the best of health. I think I was the first person to talk to him in 1979, after leaving AC, and his wife was very concerned about him even talking for too long. I saw him at the AC Centenary gathering at Brooklands in 2001, now rather hard of hearing. So the chance of him crossing the Atlantic is somewhat unlikely. A great shame.

Nik

Its an office block - will drop by and get a snap asap