Why does every thread here devolve into a "Real" vs. "Replica" argument?

[Joe's Garage]

Originally Posted by twobjshelbys

(1) Not any more. SOld it three years ago to buy a Ford GT. Wife hated it.

(2) Yes, the design "sprung forth from the loins of AC Motors", but Carroll Shelby adopted the orphan baby and let it grow up. Without Carroll, the AC Ace would have been another page in failed British Sports Car history.

Number (2) is certainly shared by some but not all, I say we will never know. Tojeiro did a special racing version of the Ace for AC in '58 and finished 2nd in its' class at Le Mans. You say "failed British Sports Car history", maybe not so much, there are other examples including beating Shelby at Le Mans in '63 I think. No matter, you have your opinion, I have mine.

FWIW, my original statement -
The truth is, AC Cars Ltd. were the creators of the 289 and 427 bodies, not Shelby".

This started out as a trade dress discussion, the appearance/shape of the cobra. I guess design got thrown in with the links which is ok but not how this mini-battle started.

LMH thinks Alan Turner deserves credit for the cobra, how do you feel about that?

In late 1962 Alan Turner, AC's chief engineer completed a major design change of the car's front end to accommodate rack and pinion steering while still using transverse leaf spring suspension. The new car entered production in early 1963 and was designated Mark II.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Cobra

I see Alan Turner as the front end guy yes, but giving all the cobra credit to him, I wouldn't. More to the original point, I don't see Alan being a big contributor to the cobra shape/appearance except for maybe fender flares (if he actually had a hand in that). But, you can give Alan Turner all the credit you want, it's still AC Cars Ltd.