Turn 10 Car of the Week: 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C
By J. Mason
It appears to me that in the first decade of the new millennium, the word “iconic” is thrown around and applied to a wide range of things that are completely undeserving. Her Royal Craziness Paula Abdul constantly refers to the latest batch of half-dead no-talent hacks on American Idol as “icons”. How can you be an icon when you’ve released and sold absolutely NOTHING? Kiera Knightley is called an icon by many in the film industry. Why? Because she managed to attach herself to a series of low-rent pirate movies, whose only saving grace was Johnny Depp? Yes I realize I may be in the minority here, but the Pirates of the Caribbean movies were really quite bad. Rotten bad. Curdled milk, mold-growing, science experiment bad.
This trend of poor labeling often occurs in the automotive world, and -- after all this time -- shouldn't these guys really know better by now? HUMMER claims the new H2 is an “iconic boy’s toy”. Nope, sorry. The Hummer brand is iconic, even the H1 model is iconic – but the H2 itself is just drivel. Manufacturers also claim, even before producing or selling a single car, that their latest concept is “sure to become an icon”, heaping glory on something that hasn’t been proven yet. The mislabeling has even gotten so bad that in the UK you can buy a Mazda MX-5 with the “Icon’ trim package, complete with “icon” stamped on the floor mats to remind yourself what a magnificent piece of machinery it is that you’re driving. Don’t hurt yourself trying to pat yourself on the back, Mazda. If it’s that easy to become one, I’m going to write ICON on my hand and start demanding three olives in my martinis instead of two.
The fact is -- it's not that simple. Sure you can pull a marketing team together and write a slobbery press release about how great your car is and how everyone will love it for years to come, but when you get it into the hands of the people and we delve deeper -- make no mistake -- the truth will come out. For those of us who don’t subscribe to your newsletter and didn’t drink your kool-aid, looking at the history of the automobile presents us with few cars that can truly claim the title of iconic. That list includes, among others, the original Volkswagen Beetle. The original Austin Cooper. The original Corvette. And of course, the 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C.
AND HERE COMES THE HISTORY!!!
The story of this American icon starts in the United Kingdom at the AC Cars group, who began building cars in 1901 under the direction of John Weller, a man no one remembers because Carroll Shelby was such a bad ass. In 1953 the AC Cars group released the first AC Ace, the car that would eventually become the Shelby Cobra. This no-nonsense little roadster was introduced with a tubular ladder-frame chassis and a two-seat alloy body, and came equipped with an inline six-cylinder 2.0L engine built by Bristol, producing a peak 135hp. For eight years AC Cars sold the Ace before Bristol pulled the plug on their engine in 1961.
During that same time Carroll Shelby had been racing in, like, a bazillion events and series throughout the world. He drove for Allard, Maserati, Ferrari and Aston Martin, competed in eight Formula One events, won the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans in the #5 Aston Martin, and claimed victory in the Mount Washington Hill Climb, in a Ferrari no less, in 1956. After retiring, Shelby created the Shelby-American company and in 1961 airmailed AC Cars to ask if they would build him a modified Ace chassis that would accept a V8 engine. AC agreed and sourced a 4.2L Ford 206 V8, set about modifying the chassis to fit, tested the car with that engine, then removed the motor and transmission and shipped the car to the US. Once it arrived Shelby-American spent only eight hours to install an engine and begin testing.
Eight hours!
After ruling American sports car racing since the first Cobra raced in 1962, Shelby swapped motors and installed a NASCAR 427 engine, and everything went to hell in a hand basket. At Sebring in 1964, weak rear leaf springs and poor chassis dynamics caused driver Ken Miles to label the car “The Turd”. The Cobra badly needed an update, so Shelby collaborated with Ford to create an all new chassis. The goal of the car was to become a Corvette killer and get back to winning races, and Shelby succeeded in dramatic fashion. First off, an increase in chassis stiffness was achieved by using one inch larger main chassis tubes. Handling was improved by ditching the leaf springs, installing coil spring suspension at all corners and widening the track by five inches. At the heart of the car, Shelby stuffed the legendary seven-liter Ford 427, producing 480hp and 180mph top speed in competition spec. Shelby missed FIA homologation for 1965, but for private teams the car was dominant: it was significantly lighter than the Corvettes and won multiple events in the SCCA, taking championships from 1965 to 1969, and again in 1973.
From the total number of Cobras that Shelby intended for racing, 31 never sold and were converted to semi-competition road legal versions. These are the Shelby Cobra 427 S/C cars, the most rare of the rare, one of which sold at auction in 2007 for $1,300,000. That’s one point three million bones or clams, or whatever you call them. For American muscle, the heritage and history behind this car is staggering, so the price must match. There is nothing false or fake about the car or its intended use. This car was created with one purpose in mind – absolutely dominating power in a muscular, lightweight package. Initially designed by a small obscure company in Europe as a hot little roadster, and massaged into a massive fire-spitting race machine by a man committed to bringing championships back to Ford, the silhouette of the car is unique and unmistakable – and for years Shelby has been fighting in the courts to protect the Cobra image as more and more companies continue to produce knock-off and replica kits of the car. When you’re a true icon, there are no doubts to your status – you simply command respect.
For the 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C, much respect is due.
J.Mason is a lazy man, quite possibly the laziest at Turn 10. He might also be in the running for laziest worldwide.