The Cobra Concept Car

[The Deacon]

Hey Guys...me again.

I read the thread regarding the "muckracker" comment about Carroll. I would say that Carroll is a muckracker, and aren't you glad he is one. If it were not for him and his continious desire to push the limits, and to try and protect the car building legacy that he created, there would be nothing out there like it is now. The resurgency in Cobra attention is due to him. The man did more for this segment of the auto industry and the Cobra than any man alive or dead. It is true that a cobra existed before Carroll, but "The Cobra" never existed without him! The release of the Concept Cobra is again a break through in design and development that has no equal. This is a car that weighs a little over 3000 lbs, and is carrying a v10 capable of 604 hp. This is mind boggling!!

Guys, because Carroll is still alive and associated with the Industry and the Cobra, it will stay in the limelight. When he is gone, it will still be the limelight, and it will still be because of him. I am not dishing the replicas out there, but you need to give "The Man" his due, he deserves it, and He sure in the heck earned it!

[avanti-176]

Deacon,
You can dish my replica all you want but when you start Diss'n
it there is going to be trouble.

Dan

[The Deacon]

Hey Avanti...

I will not dish another man's car.

The Deacon

[wilf leek]

"This is a car that weighs a little over 3000 lbs, and is carrying a v10 capable of 604 hp. This is mind boggling!! "

Hmm - 3000lbs, 604HP = 4.97lbs/hp

I built my car three years ago. It is not a concept car, it is real (sorry), road-legal, and has 12,000 miles on it.

2296lbs, 500hp = 4.59lbs/hp

My mind got boggled some while back. Does this mean I deserve adulation as well?

BTW, which cobra existed before Shelby?

[The Deacon]

Hey Wilf Leek...

That is cool that you built that kind of car. However, until you have done everything that "The Man" has done in his lifetime, we will have to wait on the adulation, sorry.

Some say the AC Ace was the first Cobra...which of course is not true, but I was trying to be respectful.

Thanks

the Deacon

[wilf leek]

Dear Mr Deacon,

In no sense was I trying to compare my good self to Mr Shelby. Whilst I could lay claim to acheivements in my lifetime, (simply surviving whilst equipped with my sense of humour springs to mind) they do not include racing success or the creation of an automotive icon. Rhetorical was the nature of my question.

However, I do not subscribe to the line that I must lay down and weep tears of adoration for everything the man does. Neophyte would be a less-than-apt description of myself. Many here could think of more apt descriptors.

The current Cobra Concept car is interesting from my perspective, but little else. It could easily be dismissed as a retro-styled concept that never made production, only time will tell.
Whatever form it takes when/if it ever makes production, I doubt an industry will spring up to replicate it. And I doubt it would be considered CS' crowning achievement.

BTW - thank you for your respect for the Ace and it's achievements "before Shelby".

[LURK]

the "which came first the Cobra or the Ace" thread has some interesting comments, pictures, and marriage proposals over at:

Did the Cobra exist before Carroll Shelby visited AC?

-JT

[Dan Semko]

"The resurgency in Cobra attention is due to him.
Guy, you know better than to make this statement. The ONLY reason the cobra is alive today is BECAUSE of the "replica industry" and the only reason Carroll Shelby is actively pursuing it's continuation is because he sees the economic opportunities it affords, which is not a criticism but rather a clarification.
The new cobra, if it makes it to production, will have to meet current DOT/EPA impact and safety standards. We watched a similar transformation with the prototype Viper mule to the production vehicle. The cobra will have to follow a similar evolution and more in order to even meet current standards.
A more important question is how will this production effect the production of CAV and alloy production CSX's? Why would Shelby endorse a product that directly competes with a vehicle that is struggling to regain it's position in the market?
Is this another Pete Rose Syndrome?

[mr bruce]

I dissagree, the cobra replica industry is alive today because of the original cobra, not the other way around. Don't think so? Remove the body shell from ANY of the cobra replicas out there and replace with a body of your own design or of another car other than a cobra, and see how many you sell . The original cobras are worth the big green BECAUSE of The Old Grouch,and the car's WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP, not because of replicas . None of the replicas can say that they are world champion.

[avanti-176]

Dan,
I have been spending more time on this site the last couple days because I am sick of hearing about Pete Rose!
Club Cobra has been my escape.

Oh Well.

As it happens you hit the nail right on the head! I couldn't agree with you more. But then how could I disagree with someone who has such an excellent first name?

Have a good one,
Dan

p.s. Mr. Bruce no offense but I think you misunderstood Dans post
I think Mr. Semko knows full well that the replica industry is
around because of the "original car " and I don't think they are worth so much because of "The old Grouch's name" but because of what they could do,and did. I don't think it would be any different if they were a "Duntov 427 Cobra" ...but I could be wrong...

[mr bruce]

Hey Studibaker, after reading the good Dr,D's post I guess I see wheresat he's coming from. but, you have to admit, few people can have the power and $$$ of FoMoCo put into a car honoring them and their car.

[BlueRooster]

The roadster never won a World Championship, wasnt that the Coupe? 99% of us dont own replicas of the coupe...I wonder why?

[Dan Semko]

The Pete Rose analogy is fitting. This is similar to betting against yourself and doesn't make sense other than insuring economic success from both ends. The big 3 have done it for years by producing the same vehicles with different badges and selling them at different dealerships. What's the difference between a GMC and a Chevy? But who always wins.....GM.

[avanti-176]

Mr. Bruce,
I can't argue with that I wish I had that kind of pull. But as I said, I fell in love with those unbeleivably sexy lines and the sounds of a car that happened to be made by a guy named SHELBY . Not because it had the name SHELBY attatched to it. Others may differ...

Dan

[mr bruce]

Coupe and roadster were the same car according to the FIA rules.One thing for sure, without the World Championship, the Cobra would have faded into oblivion like so many other limited production sports cars of the time.

[BANDIT 1]

The Cobra is a legend because for 30 years the 427 S/C Cobra was concidered the "worlds fastest production car".


12.2 1/4 mile @118 mph

[BlueRooster]

But the aerodynamics of the roadster could never have won a World Championship, yet that is the bodystyle 99% of us are interested in.

[Maricopa]

I disagree about the World Championship being the key to the Cobra's longevity. I certainly appreciate it and enjoy the racing lore and history but most people, even some 427-style replica owners know little or nothing about the 260-289, FIA and coupe cars. To the vast majority of causual Cobra onlookers a slabside is an oddity, and the 427 SC is the 'REAL' Cobra

[Excaliber]

By the way, I'm still wondering HOW the new Cobra with it's EXTENSIVE use of aluminum (aluminium?) could be as HEAVY as 3000 lbs.??? That seems SO odd.

One thing for sure with the original 289 FIA cars. There EXTREME light weight was by far their biggest advantage. They had about a 1000 pound advantage over the Vettes of that time! Even today if is very difficult to get a Cobras weight down to 2000 or less, which I believe the FIA cars were!

2000lbs\375hp= 5.3 lbs per horse? What DID the well equiped 289 of that era put out for horse power?

Ernie

[Turk]

Old saying,
"...yeah but I don't see them writing songs about Volvos" apply to this argument.

A Chevy Guy.