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Shelby Cobra 427 SC Virtual Automobile Tour

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About the Shelby Cobra

From 1961 to 1968, Shelby American completed 998 Cobras of which only 348 were 427-powered. By the early 1990s, values of the highly sought after roadsters were skyrocketing and Carroll Shelby saw an opportunity to continue his line of what had become an American icon.

Carroll served as a flight instructor during World War II and was a highly successful racecar driver until he was forced to retire due to a heart condition. With racing in his blood, Shelby pursued his long desire of becoming a racecar constructor. After seeing potential in the British AC Ace roadster, he convinced Ford Motor Company to provide V8 engines for his project. The combination of the lightweight British aluminum alloy body and the brute American V-8 power proved to be revolutionary and the Cobra went on to be highly successful in competitions around the world.

This particular Cobra is an early CSX4000 series, one of Shelby American’s continuation cars. Its body is made of aluminum and it is powered by a Shelby aluminum 427 big block V-8 engine, linked to a 4-speed Ford Top Loader gearbox. With an estimated horsepower of 500, this Cobra is capable of 0 to 60 miles per hours in 4 seconds and a top speed over 155 MPH. Famous racing driver Ken Miles once demonstrated a 427-powered Cobra on race tires was capable of going from 0 to 100 MPH and back down to 0 in 13.8 seconds. Even on street tires, the feat could be done in 14.5 seconds!