ghia cobra

[stengun]

howdy,

I've got an old kit car magizine from about 94 or so and it has an articule about the ghia cobra that was a concept/ show car in 1965 but was never built. Does anybody know anything about this car?

[cobra427hp]

My SAAC Cobra Registry shows CSX 5001 & CSX 5002 as prototype MK III cars bodied as convertibles for Shelby by Ghia, Italy 3/7/66 with 7 litre engine.

[Cal Metal]

You might also be referring to the Mercer Cobra, a concept car using a Cobra chassis that was under the direction of Virgil Exner, Head of Styling for Chrysler Corporation in the 50s. He used Ghia as the coachbuilder for cars like the Thomas Special, K-310, and the Chrysler D'Elegance.

[pderouss]

This may refer to the special built for John Willment that used a 427 Chassis and had a body off a Fiat concept car that Ghia had designed. I will try and dig out some pictures and more details. The car still exists and if I recall correctly was offered for sale relatively recently. It was a popular ( Dinky or maybe Corgi) toy when I was a kid.

[stengun]

Howdy everybody,

does anybody have any pics of the car they mentioned? If so post them so I can see if it is the same car or not. Thanks...Paul.

[Daniel Jones]

> I've got an old kit car magizine from about 94 or so and it has an
> article about the ghia cobra that was a concept/ show car in 1965 but
> was never built. Does anybody know anything about this car?

I've got some info at home about them. I think two were built.
They were not the Mercer Cobra. They were more like the Frua A.C.
428 (see http://www.carsonline.com.au/AC_428_Frua_cabriolet.jpg).
Meant to be more of a Gran Turismo type car than a brutal sports
car like the 427 Cobra. I think Frua was built on a coil sprung
427 Cobra chassis with a 6" stretch but I'm not sure about the Ghia.
I think the Frua is a gorgeous automobile and if anything, the Ghia
was even prettier.

> My SAAC Cobra Registry shows CSX 5001 & CSX 5002 as prototype MK III
> cars bodied as convertibles for Shelby by Ghia, Italy 3/7/66 with
> 7 litre engine.

I think those are the cars in question. Shelby commissioned them in
1965. I vaguely recall that both chassis numbers turned up later with
427 Cobra bodies when the Shelby prices sky-rocketed. Does the
registry say anything about that. If true, it would be a tragedy.
I sure wish one of the replica manufacturers would duplicate the
Ghia or Frua body.

I'm surprised by how many Cobra afficianados have never heard of the
Frua, let alone the Ghia. With something like 29 convertibles and 58
fastback coupes comprising the total Frua A.C 428 production run between
1965 and 1973, they are considerably rarer than a 427 Cobra but go
largely unnoticed and sell for much less than a Shelby Cobra.

If a well-maintained Frua A.C. 428 became available after I've attended
to my garage space problem, I'd have to think long and hard about it in
lieu of a Cobra replica. Of course, I'd really like to have both ...
and a GT40 and a later Iso Grifo with 351C and ZF 5-speed. Anyway,
dreaming is a lot cheaper than actually purchasing.

Dan Jones

[CRZN427]

I have a couple pictures I am going to try to post.

There was another picture that was not too good to look at but had this caption: "The Ghia 3000ME was a much more acceptable looking car, it was first seen at the 1981 Geneve Motor Show."

The caption here says:
"Owned by Ford, the Ghia 3000ME sadly never made it into production"




Caption reads:
"The Cobra 230 ME was a promising prototype that got no further than that. Mid-engined yet again, it bore more than a passing resemblance to the RS200." (NOte; There was no picture or discussion on the RS200, CRZN 427)


Caption reads:
"After the AC 289, and the 428, AC were experiencing financial difficulties. They came up with the AC 3000ME (3 litre Mid-engined), it was similar to the Fiat X1/9, and unveiled in 1972."

[stengun]

Howdy,

the pic of the ghia cobra prototype of 1965 is the one that I'm asking about. Does anybody know anything else about the car or have more pics?

[CSX 4027]

I drove the red Willment 427 coupe when it was for sale at the Checkered Flag in Los Angeles Circa 1986. Neat but strange car.
Like a big Fiat.

[KobraKarl]

Stengun,

In the book "Essential AC Cobra" by Rinsey Mills;

A picture of an ac Cobra bodied by Ghia ...looks like a Karman Ghia on massive steroids, also a picture of a ghia /cobra that looks very Jag like.....

"Two 427's received very distinctive bodies, both from the house of Ghia. For CSX3055 John Willment fitted a modified body from a 1950's Fiat 8v. CSX 3063 with a wheelbase 6in longer than normalwas given this rather successful- and thoroughly modern-shape as a styling exersize."

KK

[stengun]

Cool beans everybody,

But does anybody have any pics of the '65 ghia cobra? I'm thinking about build a clone of it, but I need more pics.

[MN Snake]

The best pictures I have seen of the Ghia Cobras CSX5001 and CSX5002 are in the winter 65/66 issue of Style Auto Quarterly - Architettura Della Carrozzeria. I think its Italian. It includes 8 photos including the only color photo I have seen. It is a beatuiful gunmetal blue. It is described as the "Cobra GT Spider". It had a 96' wheel base and removeable hard top. Other pictures are in two books by Rinsey Mills, Essential AC Cobra and Haynes Great Cars AC Cobra. I have seen it elsewhere as well, keep looking. I do not have a scanner.

[Dominik]

The Savonuzzi designed, Ghia built body was originally fitted to a Fiat 8V chassis. John Willment found the discarded body in a junkyard and married it to a leftover 427 Cobra competition chassis. A Holman-Moody 427 with twin four barrels was fitted for propulsion. Willment lost interest before the project was completed and sold it. The car has bounced around since then and has never been fully sorted out. It is the only Cobra coupe that has never seen a racetrack. This may be a good thing.

and this:
1965 Willment/Ghia COBRA 427 GT built on Chassis CSX 3055 with Holman & Moody engine owned by Lady Campbell (wife of Sir Malcolm)
For Sale by:
Rod Leach's "Nostalgia", England

Und: 1986 AC Cobra MK 4 YEL 987
Tel.: London 01 262 6583

dom, cape town

[Dominik]

the description from:

http://www.secondstrike.com/Coupe/OtherCoupes.htm

the ad from an old Car&Diver Magazine

[Historybuff]

A magazine called Style Auto, long long out of print but in some libraries, pictured the dark blue roadster with lift-off hardtop and white painted Halibrands but I have yet to see any picture of the other Cobra big block Roadster that might have had one of these two serial numbers

CSX 5001 & CSX 5002

Another report on this same website said there are now Cobra roadsters of Shelby traditional body style using these chassis numbers. My question is, did anyone get pictures of the two body styles before these bodies were thrown away?

[Blas]

Is this the one you speak of.........

[Power Surge]

Originally Posted by Historybuff

A magazine called Style Auto, long long out of print but in some libraries, pictured the dark blue roadster with lift-off hardtop and white painted Halibrands but I have yet to see any picture of the other Cobra big block Roadster that might have had one of these two serial numbers

CSX 5001 & CSX 5002

Another report on this same website said there are now Cobra roadsters of Shelby traditional body style using these chassis numbers. My question is, did anyone get pictures of the two body styles before these bodies were thrown away?

There are acutally quite a few different cars that share the same CSX5000 VINs, and oddly, they were all built by Shelby.

[Blas]

Then there was this too I believe.......no clue what this was...

[powerslide]

Refer to AC Cobra The Complete Story, by Brian Laban (Crowood Press, 1991) photos of both the roadster and the "hardtop" are on page 182. According to Mr. Laban the two cars were unveiled at the Turin Show in November 1965. However, on the same page (p179) he states that Shelby commissioned the two cars in 1966! Little date conflict I'd say. He also implies that they may have been turned into '427's at a later date.
If you go to page 61 of the February 1966 issue of Road & Track magazine you will see a frontal shot of the roadster, above the coverage article written by the late Henry N. Manney. My two cents...

CSX3055 is one of the most beautiful cars ever produced, IMHO
It looks like its going 180 standing still

image borrowed from a fellow CCmember