-SAI began production of current generation Shelby Cobras to exact or near exact spec of their original series in 1990s.
-SAAC issues statement sometime near and prior to 2004 stating their position. LONG before litigation SAAC has with Shelby in 2008. Statement makes clear that second series are genuine Cobras but not part of original series. Only difference between original Shelby and current production is years of manufacture. -REAL 1
1988-2010 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C Continuation Series
Improvements include a stronger steel frame and better alloys used in the components, plus better cooling and additional heat shielding to make these cars safer and more drivable without losing any of their original character.
Shelby Cobra 427 S/C Continuation Series
Point 1: Notwithstanding the two conflicting statements "exact or near exact spec of their original series" and "Only difference between original Shelby and current production is years of manufacture", it is clear that the current production Cobras, like all the replicas, are an improved copy of the originals. Note that the Continuations are offered in fiberglass and carbon fiber bodies, a further departure from "exact or near exact spec of their original series".
Point 2: Shelby decided to market the CSX4000/6000 series as continuations to separate his cars from the "replica" field. That does not make them non-replicas. On this forum where we have many cobra enthusiasts who are knowledgeable on the subject, a large number view the Continuations as replicas, including Ned Scudder (Registry curator) who is a true expert on the Shelby Cobra. To think that only the uneducated pedestrian sees continuations as replicas is untrue, this threads longevity has proved that.
Point 3: Using the Dinghy versus Rowboat analogy. Sure, Shelby can call his current production cobra a Dinghy, and all the others are Rowboats. But when you bring a "Trade Dress" lawsuit claiming unique distinction of your car against the others, and lose, then the court has ruled that your car is a Rowboat. As part of that ruling handed down by Judge Walsh, Shelby identified the 427 S/C
replicas as being identified with a CSX4000 designation.
Point 4: The man behind the marketing of the Continuation Cobra, Carroll Shelby. Has he given us any reason to believe what he is producing is uniquely "different" than what was already being produced at the time. I would say no, in fact quite the contrary. When one looks at the Carroll Shelby legacy, there is evidence that his character is quite suspect when marketing or trying to sell cars.
Counterfeit Cobras
In 1993 the Los Angeles Times exposed a Carroll Shelby scheme to "Counterfeit" his own cars. With the price of an original 427 c.i. Cobra skyrocketing, Shelby had, by his own written declaration executed under penalty of perjury, caused the California Department of Motor Vehicles (the government agency responsible for titling vehicles and issuing operator permits) to utter forty-three "Duplicate Titles" for vehicles that did not officially exist in company records. A letter from AC Cars confirmed the fact that the chassis numbers Shelby had obtained titles for were never manufactured, at least by AC Cars. Only fifty-five 427 c.i. Cobras had been originally produced out of a block of serial numbers reserved for 100 vehicles. Shelby had taken advantage of a loophole in the California system that allowed one to obtain a duplicate title for a vehicle only on a written declaration, without the vehicle identification number appearing in the DMV's database or the declarant ever presenting an actual vehicle for inspection.[13] Shelby later admitted[13] that the chassis had been manufactured in 1991 and '92 by McCluskey Ltd, an engineering firm in Torrance, California, and were not authentic AC chassis.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC_Cobra
Final Point: Call your Continuation a non-replica genuine Shelby Cobra if you like, that puts you in a pretty small club - even some of your fellow CSX owners do not agree with that classification. The bigger picture is that you are at odds with the majority of cobra enthusiasts. So when you do get into your genuine Shelby Cobra for a nice drive, know that you can do so because your state has allowed you to register your genuine Shelby Cobra under DMV special provisions set aside for component vehicles/kit cars/replicas.
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