The "What's the best looking car ever made" thread.

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reverend1 said:
Well the body and the doors had nothing to do with Mr. Shelby. It's just an AC Bristol. Shelby stuffed and engine into the body and did some tweaking.



Carroll Shelby and the Cobra[edit]
In 1962, AC was approached by Carroll Shelby to use a small block Ford V8 engine in the Ace chassis, producing the AC Cobra. Shelby needed a car that could compete with the Chevrolet Corvette in US sports car racing. The resulting Cobra was a very powerful roadster, and it is commonly blamed for the introduction of the 70 mph (110 km/h) limit on British motorways. While this was a major factor in the decision, after a coupe version was caught doing 196 mph (315 km/h) during a test run,[11] a then-recent spate of accidents under foggy conditions also helped the introduction of the limit.[12]

At the end of the 1964 racing season, the Cobra was being outclassed in sports car racing by Ferrari. Carroll Shelby decided he needed a bigger engine. A big block Ford FE series 390 V8 was installed in a Cobra and the result was scary—the car was virtually undrivable. It was decided that a completely new chassis was needed. With the combined help of Ford’s computers and the experience of the AC engineers, the new MKIII was born with 4-inch (100 mm) main tubes instead of 3-inch (76 mm) for the chassis, huge cross-braced shock towers and coil springs all around. This, along with a bigger 427 ci version of the FE, made the new AC Cobra MKIII an absolutely unbeatable 2,200 lb (1,000 kg) race car. Specifically, the engine that was installed in the car was Ford's famed 427 FE NASCAR"Side-Oiler" V8, a power-house engine developing 425 bhp (317 kW) in its mildest street version. Unfortunately, the car missed homologation for the 1965 season and was not raced by the Shelby team. However, it was raced successfully by many privateers and went on to win races all the way into the 1970s. The AC 427 Cobra, although a commercial failure when in production, has now become one of the most sought-after and replicated automobiles ever.

It was produced in two versions: a street model with a tamer motor, optional dual carburetors, a glove box, and exhaust running under the car, and a competition version with a stripped interior, no glove box, different instrument layout and revised suspension. The competition version also had a more powerful motor with only one carburetor, side exhausts, a roll bar and wider fenders to accommodate racing tires. At the end in 1966, Shelby was left with 31 unsold competition cars; he decided to sell them to the general public under the name of Cobra 427 S/C or Semi-Competition. Today these S/C cars are the most sought after models and can sell in excess of 1.5 million dollars.

Carroll Shelby sold the Cobra name to Ford in 1965 and went on to develop the famed racing Ford GT40.

Meanwhile, AC went on producing a milder version of the 427 MK III Cobra for the European market fitted with the small block Ford motor. The car was called the AC 289 and 27 were produced.
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Well ok Cliff Claven. Settle down. Woody's pouring you a beer. :wink:
 
reverend1 said:
Well the body and the doors had nothing to do with Mr. Shelby. It's just an AC Bristol. Shelby stuffed and engine into the body and did some tweaking.
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Wel my lawn mower doesn't have doors or seatbelts either.... but I'm not shoving a Ford V8 in it. :messedup:
 
Tig said:
Why would anyone want a replica when you can get a real one (CSX4000 series in aluminum or fiberglass) from Shelby American since 1997? It has been modified and beefed up, but it is a real Shelby, minus the signature on the dash.
http://www.shelbyamerican.com/427sc.asp
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'Cause you can build a kit for $25k? Shelby American doesn't seem to list their prices, and if you have to ask, it's too expensive.
 
Punchy said:
'Cause you can build a kit for $25k? Shelby American doesn't seem to list their prices, and if you have to ask, it's too expensive.
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I've seen the cheap kits Cobras next to the $50K+ kits, and the difference is pretty distinct.

When Shelby posted their prices about 12 years ago, a base 427 fiberglass body CSX4000 was $108,000. The aluminum body ran another $8K to $10K, I think. You could get stage 4 engine upgrade option, but the stock 427's are undriveable for most people. Original 60's 427 run $1.5 million, so the new ones are a comparative bargain, and they will go up in value.
No telling what they run lately.

I'd rather have a 289 for driving pleasure. The power to weight ratio is still awesome.
 
I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I love the Arial Atom the way that people love big sport bikes. All that raw engineering out there to be seen.... my heart rate goes up just looking at them.

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baimun said:
I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I love the Arial Atom the way that people love big sport bikes. All that raw engineering out there to be seen.... my heart rate goes up just looking at them.

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I remember watching Jeremy test one in a Top Gear episode and thought it would be an incredible car to drive. Not the prettiest, but a blast.
I've seen one at the SCCA time trials they run at the local dog track's parking lot (they over built). It will make you stop in your tracks.
 
baimun said:
I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I love the Arial Atom the way that people love big sport bikes. All that raw engineering out there to be seen.... my heart rate goes up just looking at them.

front-3q-grey-streaks_s.jpg
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Oh yeah. Count me in for a KTM xbow while your at it.
 
baimun said:
I was beginning to get nervous when I'm almost through the second page and hadn't found a cobra. Seriously... even seeing a kit version makes my daddy parts move.
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that's not a kit version.....it's one of the ones Shelby Amercian still makes. so it's a REAL cobra....just not a VINTAGE cobra.
 
Lots of great choices so far
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... and I have to give this one an Honorable Mention; Jay's 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 7.0Litre.
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and in the "new" car realm, I really love the look of these
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