Class of 62, Cobra
One of the most reconstructed cars is the Cobra. The Cobra was an idea from the American Texan, Carol Shelby. He was already active in racing in the 1950s and he was looking for a fast car to ride in the American FIA races.
After driving in all kinds of brands, including a Buick special called Old Yeller II, the idea came to him to build his own car. That has become the Cobra. The idea was simple. A powerful V8 engine had to be built into a light chassis. Carol Shelby initially approached Chevrolet for the engine, but they did not want to compete with their Corvette. He then tried his luck at Ford. That company had just developed a new small V8 and he managed to get two engines to experiment with. The first thought was to mount that engine in an Austin Healey. But that didn't work. Then the choice fell on the AC brand. You could say the rest is history. Who doesn't know the AC Cobra? Later models were also released under the name Dax Cobra and many more variants were released. The first Cobra was ready in 1962. The plan was that another 100 cars would be built after that, but in the end there were more than 600. The photos show two Cobras equipped with a hardtop. They took part in the spectacular TT race during the Goodwood Revival weekend. In the class of 62 series, a few more cars will be discussed. That are the Alfa Giulia Super, the MG B and the Ferrari 250 GTO.
Text and photos: Jacques van den Bergh www.jbfreelancejournalistiek.nl
