Genuine or replica, the only wrong Cobra is one that isn’t driven

Photography by Tim Suddard and Tim Murray

Tom Cotter decided that real Cobras weren’t driven enough. Too many cars sitting, too few out on the road.

So he decided to do something about it, creating an annual road tour for real Cobras and early Shelby Mustangs. The rules were few: no tops up, no whining about the rain, no complaints about the occasional dirt road, and no talk of politics. If you couldn’t obey the rules, Tom and his partners in crime–specifically Jim Maxwell and their wives, Pat and Sue, respectively–would somehow lose your contact info.

So that’s how a friend and I found ourselves among more than a dozen real Cobras and Shelby Mustangs for a thousand miles over just four days, bombing through the rainy mountains of Virginia. The owners seemed to care not about the rain, the miles, the occasional rock chip.

A few years ago, the group traversed Alaska. A bear attacked Cotter’s personal car, denting the aluminum bodywork. The scar remains as a testament to the fact that these cars should be driven.

Welcome to Cobra ownership today.

The first Cobras sported narrow bodies, small-blocks and wire wheels. A few years later, Shelby unleashed the flared, big-block cars. Photograph Courtesy Ford

The Cobra replica, remarks Dave Smith, might have actually raised Cobras into the international car consciousness. Since 1995, his company, Factory Five Racing, has become the world’s largest supplier of such vehicles.

But the Cobra story starts long before that. Let’s agree that it begins with the 1953 release of the AC Ace. In 1957, it received the inline-six Bristol; when engine supplies ran out, Carroll Shelby worked a deal between Ford and AC to install the new, lightweight small-block V8.

Those initial Cobras were first released in 1962, with the first 75 cars receiving Ford 260-cubic-inch engines before the move to the now-iconic 289. The first 125 cars also sported worm-and-sector steering from the AC Ace.

[A Legend Laid Bare: The Very First Shelby Cobra]

If you’re going to let the car sit in a museum, then it doesn’t matter. These 260-powered cars look nearly the same as ones that got the 289–just different badges and some slight details set them apart.

If you’re going to use your car, though, the 289-powered Cobras are significantly faster, while the rack-and-pinion steering simply drives better. The later 289 Cobras also feature side vents that actually bring some much-needed cool(er) air into the footbox. Figure about a million dollars for an early car–say a low of about $750,000 for an early driver to about $1.25 million for a concours 289. Shelby only built 655 small-block cars.

Rarer and usually more expensive is the big-block Cobra, the follow-up model that debuted for 1965 and ran through 1968. The fat flares give it away.

This one is commonly called the 427 Cobra, but many of the 343 cars built actually came with 428-cubic-inch engines instead of the 427. While that doesn’t alter the driving experience very much, it does slightly lower the buy-in. Either way, the price of admission is in the $1 to $2 million range.

Looking for even more exclusivity? There was also an S/C semi-competition model with side pipes and a roll bar–more race equipment meant less street equipment. These currently trade in the $2 to $3 million range.

The highest Cobra strata? Likely the competition cars, available during both the small- and big-block eras. Price, of course, can depend on history. Budget several million, and something to remember when Cobra shopping: Despite the different variations, Shelby only built 998 Cobra roadsters.

The famed six Coupes? In a totally different world.

[How a little aero magic made the Daytona Coupe a Ferrari-beater]

Stored away in a plastic bubble for a day that may never come? Not these Cobras. Remember, they were intended to be driven–and driven hard.

No matter the engine, the history or the details, these cars were built to be driven. On our recent rally, we encountered many longtime Cobra owners who don’t care about values and other marques. They love their Cobras and want to drive the snot out of them. Anywhere, anytime and at any speed.

This year’s tour was a mission to complete the Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive. The group did the southern half last year, and this time we would complete the northern half, each time taking in some of the most scenic roads on the planet. Side trips took us to Mount Airy, North Carolina, and near Richmond, Virginia.

A Cobra combines the best attributes of a traditional British sports car–think Austin-Healey 3000 or Triumph TR4–with the best of Detroit. In either small- or big-block guise, a Cobra has the torque. Mistake third gear for first? The Cobra doesn’t care.

Despite the available performance, the Cobra is also relatively comfortable and roomy–as long as you don’t try to put the top up. The ride feels pretty decent, and we’d call the handling lively but easily controllable–the latter assuming you use any common sense.

The reputation that Cobras are evil–especially the big-block cars–is not completely true. While the later cars sound brutal on paper–nearly 500 horsepower hauling around only about 2500 pounds, all tied together with ’60s technology–they’re also more modern than their predecessors. The frame on the big-block cars was computer-designed by Ford, and the front suspension geometry had been improved.

As classic sports cars, they can really only be faulted for three things: You won’t see fuel mileage north of 20 mpg, they have a reputation for cockpit heat that is richly deserved, and the tops just stink. You might as well leave the top at home and fit a tonneau cover when parked.

These are not cars that you cross-shop with a ’90s exotic. They’re their own animal. The low-slung doors–perfect for perching an elbow upon while taking in the scenery–recall some of Britian’s best, but here it’s married with nearly infinite power.

Bottom line: Has anyone ever jumped out of a Cobra and called it too meek and mild?

Options abound today, whether it be a Factory Five Racing kit or a faithful recreation from Shelby American. To preserve the integrity of the originals, the Shelby American Automobile Club maintains a thorough register. Photograph Courtesy Shelby American

Don’t have the scratch for a real Cobra? The world is still your oyster, with replica options ranging from cheap, inaccurate contraptions that will likely never see fruition to builds that can stump an expert.

One of the earliest reproductions came from Canadian company Aurora. According to the owner group website, the firm built 154 to 170 slab-side replicas between 1981 and 1983. While not a 100% accurate reproduction, the Auroras have a following and still show up for sale–figure $50,000 to $75,000.

If going with a company currently making cars, many choices exist. The first thing you need to decide, though, is what you want. The next step is to decide what you can afford.

If you like the flared fenders and monstrous stance of the 427 Cobra, then your options are nearly endless, with base kits, minus drivetrains, starting at used Honda Civic money. And if you want something that looks perfectly original, your dreams can still be fulfilled, but it can be a little tougher to find and more expensive once you do find it.

Glass or aluminum? All real Cobras were made from aluminum sheet stretched over tubular steel framing. The body then sits on a ladder-type frame made from round tubing.

Something to ponder, though: “Most people don’t want an exact original,” Factory Five Racing’s Dave Smith notes. “They want to design and build their idea of what a Cobra should look and drive like.”

And his company has catered to that market with kits for street and racing–no complete cars, however, but the company offers a list of dealers that can build to anyone’s desires. These kits are based around modern Ford mechanicals and come in three flavors: big-block bodywork, a replica of the small-block USRRC racer, and then a spec race car. Kits start around $15,000. A coupe is also offered.

The remains of the original Shelby America are still very much in business and building Cobras to order. It makes both 427- and 289-style cars in several configurations. It supplies rollers that need only a drivetrain installed. With modest options, you can expect to pay about $150,000 for one; if going with a special model, figure closer to $250,000.

Want a very similar experience for less? What most won’t tell you is that some Superformance and Shelby CSX cars are made next to each other on the same assembly line. If you don’t need a Shelby serial number, you might be able to save about $40,000 for what is essentially the same exact car.

Classic car dealer Tom Papadopoulos, who sells a lot of real and replica Cobras via his Autosport Designs, Inc., strongly favors these cars. They’re real aluminum AC Cobras but not Shelby Cobras, and they sell for about half that of a Shelby version.

Another longtime player is Era Replica Automobiles. It builds 289-, 289 FIA- and 427-style kits that look faithful to the originals. While you can buy just a body and frame starting at around $25,000, a finished car will run closer to $100,000 with options.

Two more prominent players: Backdraft Racing’s RT4 can come traditional or a bit more contemporary and starts around $52,000 as a roller, while Kirkham authentically reproduces the original in aluminum. Choose from 289 and 427 cars. Expect to pay upward of $250,000, though, and you’ll have to wait in line.

For the longest time, though, replica Cobras had little or no resale value. If you wanted one, you invested $50,000 or $100,000, had your fun, and when you got tired of it, accepted maybe $25,000 from the next owner. That is no longer true. Some replicas sell for more than they cost new, and any decent replica example seems to now fetch $50,000 to $250,000.

[Peter Brock defines what makes a true Shelby Cobra]

A big mistake common with replicas, though: The worst thing you can do is overpower your car. Any Cobra weighs around 2500 pounds, and by modern standards, the brakes, safety equipment and chassis are archaic. Resist the temptation to fit a twin-turbo big-block making 900 horsepower. A 400-horsepower small-block backed by a Tremec five-speed is plenty. Cobra restorer Dave Wagner also warns against heavy clutches and squeaky race pads.

The second-biggest mistake: The closer things are kept to original, the better received the replicas tend to be at Cobra events. Maybe hold back on the giant wings and flame paint job. The more conservative cars also tend to perform better at resale.

Wagner also recommends avoiding poorly constructed cars, something he sees often. The newer, more finished kits from today’s bigger suppliers leave little room for error, he says. The earlier and no-name kits can be recipes for disaster as builders were often left to figure things out for themselves.

Can you get the Cobra vibe from the original formula? As we’ve learned firsthand, yes, as Dave Wagner expertly fit Ford power into his Ace recreation.

Authentic one-offs exist, too. We have one.

[Not a Cobra, but a remarkable scratch-built AC Bristol]

My favorite car? Always been a 289 Cobra. Wire wheels. Slab sides. Simple and clean. Sorry, not interested in a 427.

Other cars are sleeker, faster and more valuable, but there’s always been something about stuffing the new Ford small-block into a classic British sports car and taking on–and beating–all comers. It was the coolest story and made for the coolest car ever built.

Having restored a Sunbeam Tiger and an early Shelby Mustang, you’d think this itch would have been thoroughly scratched for me. It wasn’t.

The pandemic changed a lot of people’s lives, ours included. We mostly moved to working from home. We had a relatively empty office building. Selling it made a Cobra a possibility. Still, the math didn’t add up–we just couldn’t have too many proverbial eggs tied up in one car.

Then Tom Cotter mentioned a car for sale–one featured in an earlier issue of Classic Motorsports, by the way. Dave Wagner, the longtime Cobra restorer, had built an exact aluminum copy of an AC Ace–two of them, actually.

He mounted them on proper recreations of the Cobra chassis and fit drivetrains that perfectly look the part: 400-horsepower 302s stroked to 331 cubic inches and backed by Tremec five-speed boxes. Dual four-barrels that look 100% period correct feed the engine. It looks like 1961 but can cruise today’s highways. A red leather AC Ace interior was paired with the stunning silver paint.

One was for sale. Price was about a quarter of the real thing. We said yes.

Wagner, a retired Ford engineer, is a master at sorting a project. No rattles, no issues, no overheating when idling in traffic. Everyone who has driven the car has declared it brilliant.

During Cotter’s Virginia voyage, we could simply enjoy the experience: top down, smiles up, enjoying the symphony of that small-block Ford. It was the classic Cobra experience but at our price point.

Despite today’s demand for Cobras, dealers had trouble selling them back in the day. More sophisticated and less expensive options–like the Corvette and Jaguar–existed at the time. But today, how often do you see an entire industry of recreations and continuation cars surrounding those marques?

Exactly.