Imagine, if you will, a 1960’s Volkswagen Beetle (1800 pounds, 90” wheelbase) with 500 Horsepower! Carroll Shelby had that kind of imagination, but he also possessed the willpower to make it happen.

After winning the 1959 24 Hours of LeMans in the Aston Martin DBR 1, Shelby was forced to leave racing due to a heart condition, however he still had the willingness and desire to compete in the sport as a race car designer, developer and builder. During this time, Shelby envisioned taking a lightweight, nimble sportscar of the day and mating it with a powerful V8 engine. In fact, it is said that he awoke one morning after a dream telling him he should name the car – Cobra. Shelby aimed to combine the handling characteristics of the British aluminum bodied Ace sports car made by A/C and, replaced its four-cylinder Bristol engine with Ford’s new light weight 260 CID V8. The combination was epic, and history was made. The engine quickly jumped in size to 289 CID, and the new Cobra rapidly took over the sports car racing scene beating the Corvettes and Jaguars that had previously been cream-of-the-crop. Nothing could touch the powerful lightweight roadster on the racetrack and Shelby began selling road going versions through Ford dealers. Not to be outdone and, to regain their former glory, Chevy decided they would go all out and put a big block 427 into the Corvette, but Shelby did them one better by dropping a Ford NASCAR 427 Side Oiler in the little sports car, hence, an icon was born.

By strengthening the round tube frame, replacing transverse leaf springs with coil springs, and widening the body and flaring the fenders to fit larger tires needed to transmit power to the pavement, nothing was faster. Shelby demonstrated its dominance by going 0-100-0mph in under 13 seconds. This was during a time when most cars were still trying to get to 100 in those 13 seconds. It was fast on short circuits, but due to wind resistance the roadster was about as aerodynamic as a brick. Even at 160mph, it simply could not compete on the long racetracks of Europe such as Le Mans. Under period rules, you could change the chassis, or you could change the body and still race as the same car without going through additional homologation. So, the Shelby team consolidated their efforts and developed the famous Daytona Coupe body over the same Cobra chassis and drivetrain and went on to win the World Manufacturer Championship in 1965. It was the only American car company to ever win it. At the same time Shelby was helping Ford to develop the mid-engine GT-40 which would go on to win Le Mans four years in a row.

By 1965 the writing was on the wall as the new mid-engine race cars were entering the stage as the way forward. This transition led the Cobra to become obsolete overnight. The problem was Shelby had thirteen 427 Cobra race cars sitting in inventory that no racers wanted. Being the marketeer that he was, Shelby decided to detune these inventoried cars and make them street legal. These were sold as the Shelby Cobra 427 S/C (for Semi Competition) and later became the iconic American Classic and subject of so many books and posters.

Combined with their rarity and low production numbers, prices began to sky-rocket and a few companies sought to cash in by making replicas. Some were good, some not, and many were sold as kit cars where a company supplied a fiber glass body and frame while leaving builders to cobble together parts from other cars in efforts to replicate the vehicle. Some companies went to great lengths to build a vehicle as close to the original as possible. Superformance, which features here, went to great lengths to reproduce these vehicles as close to original went beyond by using some of the original tooling and parts suppliers. They also built full-rolling factory chassis which left buyers to source and install their own engine and transmission. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s Shelby brought suit against all the replica companies, however Shelby reached a deal with Superformance whereby Superformance would become the only manufacturer licensed by Shelby to build the Cobra. Additionally, Superformance was contracted to build the Shelby continuation vehicles that are still produced today. As a result of the deal, Superformance Cobras and Daytona Coupes can be included in the Shelby American Registry.

The example featured here in “Indigo Blue Metallic” and a ”Wimbledon White” stripe, is a Superformance replica of the Shelby Cobra 427 S/C built in 2002 with a Ford 460 CID engine and Tremec TKO 5-speed transmission. It has Halibrand style pin drive aluminum wheels with knock off spinners. Power is slightly over 500hp with 540ft-lbs of torque. The car weighs 2600lb dry and is equipped with Wilwood power brakes and, of course, no power steering. Rather than opting for the popular, lighter and more nimble small block engine, owner Jim Smith chose the Big block engine because, as he says, “I wanted to experience the feel of the heavier front end, just like back in the day.” Even so, the vehicle is well balanced, with a 50-50 weight distribution and, according to Jim, “It’s loud, hot, very fast, and a handful, to say the least!” Thanks to Jim Smith of Fairview Heights’ IL for participating in this shoot. Motorsportraits™… “turning obsession into art”.