[What'saCobra?]

Really: Perhaps not. Perhaps not the only thing, either. But, as my Pittsburgh friends are wont to say, "...be that as it may...", it isn't clear why you choose the word "derivatives". My most recent association with that name is the fraudulent debt/asset instruments found in the current real estate collapse. Naturally, i think the word is at best, inappropriate and at worse, intendedly derisive.

AC Cars Limited, from 1962(3?) were exclusively licensed by FORD Motor Company to build and sell Cobras, outside of North America. Much later, Angliss formed Autokraft to fabricate components (and eventually full autos) for ACC's subsequent distribution. He was a supplier and very close to the Herlocks because of his performance, price and attitudes about quality and reliability. Eventually, he bot ACC with FORD and a few minor partners (the detail of which escapes me at the moment). He moved the entire factory from Thames Ditton to a large new facility located inside the old Brooklands race-track grounds, perhaps 20 miles south of London Heathrow.

Eventually, FORD tried to stop Brian from building and selling, by putting ACC out of business. Brian estopped FORD from their nefarious behavior (nothing either personal or new there at FORD) via the courts. In the end, Angliss owned all ACC with a few minor partners, at least one of which he bought out either before or after the suit with FORD.

While Shelby went to Africa, etc, AC Cars Limited continued to build Cobras, though not all were labeled as a Cobra. See Trevor Legates wonderful new Cobra book for lots of details and pictures. But, ACC had the rights to use the name, without doubt. After Angliss acquired ACC, he envisioned a more legal Cobra for the 1980's regulatory environment, which he exported to the US FORD dealers as the MKIV. Recall that ACC was not licensed to sell Cobras in N. America, but the FORD dealers certainly could.

In the early nineties, CS et al "discovered" a large set of "left over chassis" from AC Cars Limited, in order to continue to sell "original" or "real" Cobras with chassis from the original construction run. Of course, this story wasn't true, as we all know. Someone else can explain the gory details as they see fit.

Angliss sued CS/SAI etc. for that misrepresentation that they were from AC Cars Limited, as part of the original lot of parts. CS "numbered" them in the sequence of the 427 SC's (CSX 30XX), though they were never fabricated in England or anywhere else by ACC. Angliss and CS agreed, with suitable weasel-words, that ACC did not make those chassis, but also that the Messiah himself did conceive of the Cobra, etc, etc.

Subsequently, Angliss decided to build himself (and a few friends) a very few of the original SC cars, starting in 1992, ending in 1995 (see prior entries). The motivation, while not really significant, was based on ROI, opportunity, welcome market (though it was then softening a wee dram), pride and as something of a victory lap over CS.

Dave Wagner, then with his personal Detroit shop, employed by FORD as the customer service contact for AC to FORD (among other significant assignments at FORD, particularly facilitating US DOT approval of the MKIV), bot a series run of MKIII's from Brian on an as-available basis, perhaps something just over 7 cars or so, but it is in the SAAC book. Because of his career employment with FORD, Dave was "asked" to change the number sequence from the ACC series to something that CS didn't want to use. No problem. They are beautiful cars all, completed mostly by Dave and have sold quite expensively from time to time. David does the completion quite accurately, most would say rather perfectly; so they are very difficult to differentiate from the originals, though David can easily do so, i believe.

Upon purchase of the assets of ACC, Lubinsky (ACCG) did not honor the deal previously established by Angliss with David. This was only ONE of L's errors. His next biggest was not to purchase all of ACC, except the unknown liabilities. As a result of only buying the assets on the books, ACCG Limited (the "new" AC) lost the grandfather rights to production British Type approval. This error now required that all new production cars pass current type approvals, simply not possible for any sort of Cobra-based vehicle for many technical reasons, ranging from emissions, to safety and appearance.

Further, ACCG also received a cease and desist order from FORD not to use the moniker Cobra, since there was no agreement with FORD to transfer those rights to any other legal entity. By closing down ACC, L did FORD a favor that it could not accomplish with the previous court suit(s).
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Anyone further in the know, please correct any of my errors or mistaken views at their leisure.