[Historybuff]

because Shelby didn't have the money to pay for them. Hugus did.
Hugus was a key contact for Shelby because he was a veteran of Normandy , and had raced several times at LeMans and was well respected by the French who told him "whatever you want, you got" so when Shelby wanted Cobras entered at LeMans in '63 but not under the Shelby name, it was done. I lean toward "prepared by Hugus" rather than built by Hugus but it makes sense to ship cars from England to PA rather than to the West Coast and back. After all the cars arrived from the UK painted, trimmed, wired and all they needed was the engine and gearbox. Hugus lived in Pebble Beach and Savannah, GA and only recently died.