Shelby Cobra

The Cobra was a roadster created in the mid sixties by Carol Shelby, based on the British sports car the AC Ace. Shelby basically placed a Ford V8 into the car and proceded to use it in grand tourer racing. He was extremely successful, especially in endurance racing. A coupe version known as the Shelby Daytona was also made. Cobra editions of the Ford Mustang were created, dubed the Shelby Mustang (although they are often considered separate models from the Mustang). The Cobra is the most replicated car of all time, with 99% of all Cobras being either reproductions or replicas. A concept car was created in 2004 as a modernization of the Cobra, but was never put into production. The Cobra was the inspiration for the Dodge Viper, especially the car's name. The Viper went on to be extremely successful in GT racing itself (the Daytona-inspired coupe version being the one used, incidentally). There was also a Cobra edition of the Ford Torino. The Cobra was tributed at the Monterey Historic Automobile Races at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California.