Ford announces NEW SHELBY COBRA

[Bill Wells]

From the Detroit News, 1-4-04 (edited to fit size limit):















GARDENA, Calif. -- The cavernous garage went dead silent as the team from
Ford Motor Co. gathered around the vehicle hidden under a silk tarp.

Then Carroll Shelby, clad in black from head to toe, walked up slowly,
savoring the moment he had thought about for more than 30 years.

And when Ford design chief J Mays whisked the cover off the sleek,
one-of-a-kind, 2004 Ford Shelby Cobra supercar on Dec. 15, Shelby was home
again.

“This is what I have been looking forward to for a long, long time,” Shelby
said in his East Texas drawl. “As the NASCAR boys would say, this ... is ...
awesome.”

Tonight, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Shelby
and Ford Chairman Bill Ford Jr. will unveil the new Cobra concept car to the
world’s automotive media.

But as impressive as the 600-horsepower, silver-and-gray Cobra is on stage,
the real star will be the 80-year-old Shelby, the biggest name in American
auto racing in the 1960s and a Ford icon for the ages.



It’s been 35 years since Shelby and Ford bitterly parted ways, ending one of
the most storied partnerships the auto industry has ever seen.




A generation later, it was his son, Edsel Ford II, who brought Shelby back
to the automaker as a special consultant on future products.

The peace was made in the summer of 2001, at the annual Concours d’Elegance
classic car show at Pebble Beach in northern California.

“I said to Carroll, ‘we’ve got to put all this stuff behind us,’ ” Edsel
Ford told The Detroit News recently. “It was very important to me personally
that we put everything aside and looked to the future.”

Since last spring, Shelby has met regularly with the designers and engineers
working on “Project Daisy,” Ford’s top-secret effort to create a modern,
21st century version of the famed Cobra.

The stakes were sky-high. If anything were to punctuate Ford’s corporate
turnaround, it would be a brand-new Cobra. A misstep, Ford executives knew,
would be disastrous.




When Ford brought the finished product to the sprawling headquarters of
Carroll Shelby International outside Los Angeles last month, the circle was
complete.

Shelby, the prodigal son who once sued Ford for $30 million, had returned to
the fold.

“I’ll bet you boys,” he said with a craggy smile, “that we’ve got a hit on
our hands.”




With a $25,000 stake from Ford in 1962, Shelby developed the first Cobra, a
pocket-rocket roadster capable of zero-to-60 in just under four seconds.






“What Carroll did for Mustang in the 1960s will never be repeated,” Edsel
Ford said. “We were ensconced with Carroll. It was unique.”

But Shelby was still an outsider at Ford, and vulnerable to the shifting
politics in the Glass House. Ford’s new president, Bunkie Knudsen, wanted to
bring the high-performance program in-house.

“Iacocca couldn’t protect me anymore,” Shelby said. “I couldn’t get anything
done.”
.”

Ford becomes the enemy

A call from his old pal Iacocca, by then the chief executive of Chrysler
Corp., brought Shelby back to the United States in 1981. He began
customizing dull Dodges, injecting performance and laying the groundwork for
the sports car that ultimately became the Viper.

Ford was the enemy now. In 1986, Shelby sued Ford for $30 million for
alleged trademark infringement when it put the GT350 name on a 20th
anniversary edition of the Mustang. The legal battle raged for nearly five
years before the suit was settled out of court.

His racing associates from the glory days saw the toll the fight with Ford
took on Shelby.

“You know those championships that Ford won in the 1960s didn’t just
happen,” said Bernie Kretzschmar, a former Shelby-American race mechanic.
“Carroll made it all happen.”

Moreover, Shelby was slowly dying. Two heart-bypass operations in the 1970s
failed to correct a hereditary condition. By 1990, his heart function had
shrunk to a frightening 14 percent.

“My doctor decided I better have a heart transplant,” he said. “Soon.”

And in typically dramatic, Shelby fashion, he got his new heart from a
38-year-old gambler who dropped dead of a cerebral hemorrhage in a Las Vegas
casino. Less than a year later, Shelby was driving the Dodge Viper pace car
at the Indianapolis 500.



But there was always a gnawing sense that he had another chapter left in his
automotive career. The seeds of his return to Ford were planted by two of
the automaker’s top engineers — John Coletti and Chris Theodore.

Coletti and Theodore harbored a dream of building a new Ford GT, a modern
re-issue of the car that won Le Mans. When Ford CEO Jacques Nasser gave the
project the green light, they reached out to Shelby.

“The Shelby name is still pure magic,” Theodore said. “It seemed natural for
him to come back to Ford.”

The deal was struck over dinner at Pebble Beach in 2001. Edsel Ford, who
spent a summer as a teen-ager working in Shelby’s race shop, pitched the
idea personally.

“This is not some ceremonial thing,” Edsel Ford said. “We want to build a
real GT, and we want your personal imprint on it.”

Shelby wasn’t sure at first about the overture.

“You know, for 35 years nobody gave a damn about Le Mans and what we
accomplished,” he said. “But hell, when Edsel came and said they want to
build a real sports car, well, that’s what I do.”

He advised the GT team on technical issues, but his involvement ratcheted up
when the Cobra project got under way last March.

“He’s still full of piss and vinegar,” said Mays, the Ford design chief.
“The thing is, nobody knows what makes a Cobra better than Carroll.”

At one point, Shelby thought the new Cobra’s front end came off as too
flush, too streamlined, and lacking the wide-mouth, menacing look of the
original.

“If I’m honest, I’m not sure the front end looks as much like a Cobra as it
should,” Shelby told Mays.

Changes were made. The final version evokes the raw, performance-first Cobra
heritage in a modern package. For his part, Shelby was more impressed with
what Ford did under the hood.



“We showed the GT as a concept, and we built it,” Mays said. “We showed the
Mustang, and we built it. We’re showing the Cobra, and you can take it from
there.”

For Shelby, the return to Ford is like taking a long-awaited victory lap.

“You know, I don’t kid myself that I’m going to have a big impact on what
Ford does with these cars,” he said. “But it feels real good to be back.”



The day before he saw the finished Cobra, Shelby and his wife, Cleo, drove
down from their hilltop home in Los Angeles to the annual Christmas party of
the Orange County Cobra Club. When he walked into the restaurant packed with
Cobra lovers, the room erupted into a standing ovation.

“He may act like he’s just one of the guys, but he’s our living legend,”
said John Marshall, a retired engineer who owns a Cobra and a GT350. “He’s
our hero. He’s done it all.”

Tonight, at Cobo Center, the legend is rekindled at Ford with a new Cobra,
but the same old Shelby.

“He’s come home again, and that’s pretty fine,” Edsel Ford said. “He has
come home, and he belongs here. He belongs at Ford

[Gordon Claunch]

They had a couple of very small pictures on the detroit news website, showed dual rollbars and a flip top hood, found this also


Ford's PROJECT DAISY Exclusively Unveiled on TLC
- TLC's New Series RIDES Kicks Off with an Exclusive Look At Ford's Hottest New PROJECT DAISY -

SILVER SPRING, Md., Dec. 29 -- There is only one Ford Motors. When they build a prototype show car, everyone in the auto industry wants in on the secret. TLC's RIDES: PROJECT DAISY is the fly on the wall for this special one-hour documentary. From development and design to manufacture and unveiling, Ford gave TLC unprecedented access to the classified project, codenamed Daisy. The program captures the mystery, magnitude and engineering feats surrounding the development of a new model car. PROJECT DAISY is scheduled to premiere at the world famous Detroit Auto Show on Sunday, January 4 at 5:00 PM MT. TLC will air the exclusive RIDES: PROJECT DAISY from 9-10PM ET/PT on Tuesday, January 6.

Ford anticipates PROJECT DAISY will rival the iconic status of the Mustang or the Thunderbird in American car culture. This highly anticipated model leaves the drawing board and comes to life before your eyes -- eyes that before now had to have top-secret clearance. TLC captures the final DAISY test drive as the car is readied for its final unveiling and America meets its newest icon.

PROJECT DAISY is the first installment of the RIDES series this season and features the hottest autos of today and yesterday. Go to TLC.com to learn more about RIDES: PROJECT DAISY and check out the latest on this new TLC series. BCII produces RIDES for TLC. For TLC, Sandra Gregory is executive producer. For BCII, Bud Brutsman is executive producer.

[computerworks]

Press release pics

[computerworks]

more..

[Gordon Claunch]

Those are the ones!!!

[mr bruce]

The end of the replica bizz.Just think, a "REAL" Shelby Cobras, no registration problems(Cal. residents) warrenty, service at any Ford dealer, financing, etc. Now you know why FoMoCo protects their brand names.

[mr bruce]

Oh, one more thing, wait 'till you see the Daytona Coupe!

[Gordon Claunch]

I bet they will be sky high leaving lots of room for replicas like mine that normal working stiffs can afford

[RACER X #99]

Is this the UK/ Aussie version?

[Fox]

I am very excited to see DAISY. I think Ford and Shelby reunited is a dream chapter for old man's book and I am happy for him. It would have been a shame for him to pass and all that was left would be the speculation of what might have been. Kudos...

On a practical note, I am sure Daisy will be a pretty penny. Even with fianancing, I will be priced out of the likely six figure+ price tag. Not to mention that under the hood will be something just a little technically over the top for me to tinker with IMHO.

So again I'm in the position of, I can't afford a 'real' old one, the 'real' new one, or for that matter the 'real' replica. So for now I am going to hold out and get an ERA, which I happen to think is a real good one.

I will be patient, and just maybe I will get a DAISY replica when it becomes available. Then I'm sure the big decision will be an old SB or BB

-John

[southernfriedcj]

Originally posted by mr bruce


Now you know why FoMoCo protects their brand names.

Ala the GT40?

[LURK]

"Codename: Daisy" on The Learning Channel

"Follow the next wave in auto design, from concept to the inaugural run. Perhaps the next Mustang or Thunderbird, this top-secret model promises to revolutionize the industry at it's debut at the world-famous Detroit Auto Show."

The show was on last night (DOH! missed it), and re-airs

—Jan 06 2004 at 09:00 PM
—Jan 07 2004 at 12:00 AM
—Feb 22 2004 at 10:00 PM

[stush]

Kind of looks like a Series 1 without the air intake on the hoods front end. Has a ittle Jaguar look as well...I'll pass. Now when they come out with a 350GT version for the new Mustang in 2005, I'm in. Find it hard to believe that Ford would come out with another car selling for 6 figures when the GT40 is on the way.

Stu

[sierramadre45]

I believe this is a car that Ford intends to market to a much more mainstream target than the GT. Initial volume projections are significantly higher than the GT which will be phased out after 3 years. I wouldn't be surprised to see pricing that will be very competitive with ERA & Superformance.

[luke-44]

I think it's great that Ford is launching a new Cobra - publicity for the marque.

I would like to see an overview picture of the car - it will be so homogenized, federalised, 5 mph bumpers, crash worthy interior, dual roll bars etc, etc, -and forget opening the hood and knowing what it's all about.

People in our world enjoy Replicas because they replicate a car from a bygone era. Ford on the other hand will simply copy some styling points of a car from a bygone era.

That, combined with the probable high price, means I can't see it being much more successful than the current new T-Bird.

Bruce

[Dwight]

CAN SOMEONE POST A FEW PICS?

[Wahoo]

Can someone tell me when the show will be on and/or when I can see it on the east coast? I've checked TLC.com and no mention of the auto show. Someone post pics...pleeeeze

[Bud Man]

All very interesting, and to a Ford/Shelby buff, pretty exciting.

Ford shareholders over the longer term may have a different viewpoint. Ford's recent forays into "retro" have been, IMHO, a little less than stellar. The long anticipated current T-Bird is failing, and perhaps has one more season ahead of it. The soon to be produced Ford GT is, at an estimated $150K, out of the reach of most enthusiasts. The eagerly anticipated Mustang is still a no show, and the recent Mercury Marauder is as dead as Julius Caesar.

Over the past several years, Ford's bread and butter has been full size trucks, and it appears that the all-new F 150 is going to be a big winner. The problem is that their traditional base is now being wooed by several outstanding new products announced from GM and Chrysler and now recently from Toyota and Nissan, and their continuing dominance in the future remains to be seen.

Also disturbing is that the company that originally put America on wheels apparently can't today field an affordable family sedan that can compete on quality and value with the likes of Nissans Maxima and Toyotas Camry/Avalon. While the GT and the other rero offerings of the recent past may have gotten people into the showrooms, they don't necessarily sell cars. Ford needs world-class product.

It is good to see the Blue Oval and Carroll Shelby together again, and the media attention the union will surely generate must be considered positive. What it does to help enhance Ford's financial health and well being (and it's stock price) remains to be seen.

Bud

[Excaliber]

MORE PICS!!! This is HUGE news. The rumor has been floating for some time and it appears we have some factual data finally.

Ford has noted they cannot capture what was the original, they know that, we know that. This hardly means the "end of the replicas", which are a different breed all together.

The "real" question is: Will the new Cobra be a worthy successor to the original Cobra? Perhaps not as much in the "looks" department. Performance? Handling? Time will tell.

I think it's safe to say the new GT-40 is a worthy successor of the original, in terms of it all. Looks, performance and handling.

Tip of the hat to Ford and C.S. for a wonderful history and a interesting future!

Ernie

[Maricopa]

The new T-bird failed because, A: The name had become so watered down over the years and, B: It was a POS performance-wise. If this new Cobra had instead been the T-bird, and had performance comparable to the Vette/Viper etc at a reasonable cost it would have done well.

Sorry, I don't see a new Cobra breaking the RepliCobra industry. The new one doesn't look anything like the the car I fell in lust with, and I still can't build one myself for 20K. There will also always be room for the folks who want a dead-nuts copy too, unless ford ramps back production of sideoiler FEs.

More power to Ford I say, bring on every great new car you can!