Not Ranked
The problem here is that several folks dwell on only part of someone's reply and leave the "good" things that the person has said about Shelby out.
The facts are simple, the body that we call the "Cobra" existed before shelby (although it was "modified" with the 427 S/C, you can't "modify" something that didn't already exist). It is a fact that after seeing various British cars with "Cobra-like" traites, that most of these cars had items copied from each other.
People here make it sound like AC corporation would have not been able to get another engine manufacturer for their cars, we don't know that. Several Nascar teams lose their sponser each year, if Gatorade picks one up does that mean the Nascar team would have gone under without them? Hell no! It is made to sound that the owners and employee's of AC were just a bunch of losers that were going under until Mr. Shelby "walked on water" to save them. Give the folks at AC their due credit, after all they built the damn car!
Do you think Ford was going out of buisness and Mr. Shelby came to their rescue? Hell no! There were people at Ford that had to do their part in getting the Cobra to be a reality. Where is the credit for them?
Several folks on this forum say that without Mr. Shelby there would be no AC wth a "big V8". Quite frankly, we don't know if someone else would have put a V8 in the AC or not. I will say that there wouldn't be a AC Cobra without Mr. Shelby, however there wouldn't be a AC Cobra without AC saying "yes" and Ford saying "yes" either.
Where is the credit for the "real" designers, the engine builders (I guess Mr. Shelby designed and built the 427 SO engine also), the race car drivers, etc...
Let's agree that Mr. Shelby (like others...) had a huge part in the evolution of the 427 Cobra, however that does not let him get away with the "negative" things he has done. Everone should be held accountable.....just ask Pete Rose.
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