In Profile: The 1962 AC Shelby Cobra - News

KEY POINTS

• The AC Shelby Cobra is the timeless sports car created between two legendary British and American automotive marques of the 1960s
• Kitted out with a lightweight V8 engine, original versions of the Cobra are hard to find and fetch a high price tag
• Trackdays offers a replica of this much sought-after performance car to drive as part of our driving experience vouchers UK wide

We've recently started a new series of blogs taking a closer look at some of the most popular vehicle selections on our driving experience vouchers that can be booked at venues across the UK. Last month, we covered the 2021 Aston Martin Vantage.

This month, we're setting the wayback machine around 50 years prior to that, and to the beginning of the swinging 60s, as we cast our spotlight on one of the few classic cars that still has a gravitational pull for our customers over its modern day rivals. We are, of course, talking about the AC Cobra…

• What are The AC Cobra's Vital Stats?

Produced between 1962 and 1967, the original Mk II Cobra model - on which the replica in our fleet is based on - is powered on a 4.7 litre Windsor Ford V8 engine.

Replicas such as ours typically utilise a more affordable Jaguar or Rover V8 engine instead, offering out 485 bhp and torque of 480 lbs/ft.

Acceleration is relatively challenging to more up to date performance cars, going from 0-60mph in 4.2 seconds and 0-100mph in 10.1 seconds, with achievable top speeds of 160mph. Not bad for an old timer, eh?

• A Meeting of Two Marques

It's hard to explain to modern motoring enthusiasts the significance of the AC Cobra - or AC Shelby Cobra, as it is sometimes known - in this day and age, when most automotive manufacturers have been subsumed within one of the Big Three (General Motors, Stellantis and the Ford Motor Company). But for its time, it was ground breaking.

Developed from AC's Ace two-seater roadster that had been in production since 1953, AC and Shelby were each supplied with one of Ford's new 3.6 litre small block V8 engines to their respective production plants on both sides of the Atlantic, in 1961.

In January of the following year, AC completed their Ace 3.6 prototype at their Surrey plant, modifying the front end steering box so as to allow clearance for the wider V8 engine. In February, it was shipped over to Shelby's plant in Los Angeles, who increased the engine size to 4.3 litres to give us the Cobra that car fanatics the world over know today. And thus, a legend was born…

• Why Should I Drive the AC Cobra?

The first thing to note is that genuine AC Cobra models are both rare to find, and do not come cheap. Well preserved examples are much sought after amongst collectors and enthusiasts, and they can fetch a whopping price tag anywhere north of £1 million.

But the replica Cobra that is used not just on our supercar experiences, but also our classic car and performance car experience vouchers, is a faithful capture of the spirit and feeling of what the original is like to drive, and which has subsequently enamoured those lucky ones that have got behind the wheel of one (not that we're jealous, or anything!)

• Our Best AC Cobra Driving Experiences

From as little as £49, our Shelby Cobra experience offers 3 miles' driving time at a wide range of venues and locations across the UK, with a full safety briefing and in-car guidance from an expert instructor. There's also the option to boost your driving time to 6 miles with the 'Double the Distance' upgrade for an additional fee.

Then there's also our Double All Star Driving Experience with High Speed Passenger Ride at £65, where the AC Cobra is one of our fleet selections that you can take your pick to drive along with an Ariel Atom, Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, a Nissan Skyline R34 or even a Maserati GranTurismo, for 3 miles each. The choice is yours, and you'll enjoy a high speed ride in a performance saloon car with the instructor at the wheel for free too!

Or for £109, if you want to make it a really classic drive to remember, there's our Iconic Classic Car Experience - 3 Cars voucher, where you can enjoy driving the Cobra along with your choice of everything from a Jaguar E-Type to a Ford Mustang GT500 for 3 miles each at nationwide UK venues, with either a performance saloon car passenger ride or a 4x4 passenger ride* (*only at Kendrew Barracks) included free!