Cobra Myths and Legends

[A-Snake]

Originally Posted by Trevor Legate

Hi Jim

Indeed the special edition sold out early on (wish we had produced more!!) so that was a sound investment

But then it wouldn't be a 'special' edition, would it?

I wonder if the regular edition is traveling via slow boat...;-)

[xb-60]

This is from the Legend himself, in an interview with SUPERCAR CLASSICS in July 1987, so it sort of fits the "Myths and Legends" thread....

"The official name of the car with FIA is Shelby AC Cobra. I gave 'em permission to put AC in there. They were whinin' like babies over there, they wanted their name on it, and Ford talked me into it. I sold the Cobra name to Ford for a dollar - one dollar - while I was using Ford dealers."

and:

"...I don't have any real gripes about Cobra being licensed to Brian Angliss or to anybody else they want to licence it to. That's none of my damn business now."

and then:

"I got fed up with Ford. I didn't want any more. I was working with some nincompoops who thought because I was using Ford engines, they were my boss"

Cheers,
Glen

[Snake2998]

A hearsay story so not sure if true or myth: Ford allowed the trademark on the Cobra name to laps in South Africa so Shamrock registered it and used it for their kits - Ford sued them and Shamrock won with costs - Ford never paid costs so Shamrock attached the Ford Blue Oval Logo - Ford paid the next day.

[FatBoy]

Originally Posted by xb-60

"The official name of the car with FIA is Shelby AC Cobra. I gave 'em permission to put AC in there. They were whinin' like babies over there, they wanted their name on it, and Ford talked me into it.

Great quotes Glen.

This one sounds like typical Shelby bull5h1t to me though. The car was an AC and there is no getting away from the fact, no matter how much Shelby claimed otherwise. Shelby came up with the idea, but it wasn't exactly a breakthrough idea as it had been done many times before. Presumably, it was Shelby who registered the car with the FIA so he could probably have used whatever name he wanted and including "AC" was the right thing to do.

Paul

[FatBoy]

There are plenty of tales and myths around the CSX chassis numbers and what the letters stood for.

Whichever story you happen to believe regarding the chassis numbers, there is a chassis prefix to throw a spanner in the works. I suspect that some of the prefixes were made up as they went along, with very little thought to the logic.

Following previous AC convention, the Mk.III chassis cars (coil-sprung) should probably have been a "D" prefix i.e. DSX#### - D series, S Shelby, X Export. Instead, they broke convention and went up from 2### to 3###. Maybe Shelby had something to say on it because he had been telling everyone the CS stood for Carroll Shelby.

Paul

[lovehamr]

Spoken like a true Briton!

[FatBoy]

Originally Posted by lovehamr

Spoken like a true Briton!

Of course.

[xb-60]

Was going to post this on the recent thread on COB6008 started by SunDude....but thought that Cobra Myths and Legends might be more appropriate.
Bruce Ropner and COB6008 just have to qualify as Legends


I have a story about Bruce Ropner driving COB6008 .... he holds the lap record for Croft racing circuit with a top speed of 70mph and an average of 50mph.

Doesn't sound all that fast?

.....It's the lap record for driving round in reverse gear....

Cheers,
Glen

[FatBoy]

Originally Posted by xb-60

Was going to post this on the recent thread on COB6008 started by SunDude....but thought that Cobra Myths and Legends might be more appropriate.
Bruce Ropner and COB6008 just have to qualify as Legends


I have a story about Bruce Ropner driving COB6008 .... he holds the lap record for Croft racing circuit with a top speed of 70mph and an average of 50mph.

Doesn't sound all that fast?

.....It's the lap record for driving round in reverse gear....

Cheers,
Glen

That's a good story Glen. I know the recent owner of COB6008, so I ask him if he knows the story and whether he can confirm it.

Paul

[CBattaglia]

I heard one. A guy explaining how how fast his cobra was said if he were stopped at idle on the side of the road and you passed him doing 100 mph, he could pull out catch you and be so far ahead you wouldn't be able to see him in one minute.

Sounds cool. With a little math I'm sure we could figure this one out.

[FatBoy]

Originally Posted by CBattaglia

I heard one. A guy explaining how how fast his cobra was said if he were stopped at idle on the side of the road and you passed him doing 100 mph, he could pull out catch you and be so far ahead you wouldn't be able to see him in one minute.

Sounds cool. With a little math I'm sure we could figure this one out.

That one entirely depends on the road. At best, the Cobra is going to be around a mile ahead by the end of the minute, which would require a dead straight road, in which case, he would still be very much in view.

I think we can probably put that one down as "myth".

Paul

[mdross1]

The few myths surrounding the Cobra will live on with most. Who amoungst us will take the time to prove them otherwise. I for one like the myths and in no hurry to dispel them. Like owning a Harley Davidson motorcycle owning a Cobra for me is one of the few things in life that totally makes me a happy person. Let these legends and myths live on.

So many of the muscle cars we have owned have their own trail of myths and legends,for that matter how many people do we know that consider themselves legends in their own time.

[Maricopa]

I took mine to a club the other day and before I was out of it one excited guy had told me all about how the 427 Cobras could do 0-100-0 in 9.5 seconds and he once got a ride in one of the Daytona Coupes (of which they made only 2!).

I'm always amazed at how these cars reduce grown men to lying sacks of excrement in 2.5 seconds (which is how long they take to get to 60 BTW!)

[xb-60]

0 to 60 in 2.5?
Yep, I read that.....somewhere.....
Cheers,
Glen

[Bernica]

My biggest crackup was the guy that came up and asked horsepower. I told him and he told me "sheesh, the real Cobras have 1,000 hp, I just saw it on TV!"

[Bernica]

My biggest crackup was the guy that came up and asked horsepower. I told him and he told me "sheesh, the real Cobras have 1,000 hp, I just saw it on TV!"

[FatBoy]

It was funnier the first time.

[G-Pete]

Originally Posted by Bernica

My biggest crackup was the guy that came up and asked horsepower. I told him and he told me "sheesh, the real Cobras have 1,000 hp, I just saw it on TV!"

98% of the people believe Reality TV Shows are real

[Bernica]

Originally Posted by G-Pete

98% of the people believe Reality TV Shows are real

Another good one was the guy that explained to me that my car is actually "illegal" and that he knew (for a fact) that everyone is using a loophole to keep them on the road. Said he found out all about it on "the internets" and told me that it's just a matter of time before they catch up with me. Then asked me if I had paid a "gas guzzler tax" like I was supposed to. I just thanked him for the information.

[Bernica]

Sorry, must've double-clicked when it wasn't responding.