[Excaliber]

Assuming GM had let Shelby "run with the ball" and took a BIG hands off approach (never would have happened, but suppose it did) would the Vette have done as well as the AC Cobra in racing?

I'm not so sure! I suspect the weight difference was substantial between the two cars. And if there was ONE thing that gave the AC Cobra a HUGE advantage, it was weight! The Vette was some 400 pounds lighter than a 1959 Vette. So what DID it weigh in at? I THINK the AC Cobra's were around 2000 pounds or less.

Another consideration would be the suspension. NIETHER car was exactly "advanced" in that department! I find it interesting that the FIA Cobras handled as well as they did, frankly! They were high off the ground and had a LOT of body roll. But for their "time" they were as good or better as anything out there!

The Vette had a live axle, (solid rear end) in 1959 with drum brakes. In comparison to that, the AC Cobra was light years ahead in design. What was it, 1963 or so before the Vettes got IRS? When DID they get disc brakes?

Ernie