America's Legendary Sports Car Champion.....Shelby Cobra
Northern California Shelby Cobras
Shelby American, Inc.
Bob Gardner
22 Brandon Oaks Place,
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Tel: 925-212-5466 E-Mail: rgautomoto@aol
Thanks to Northern California Shelby Cobras, who provided our Cobra and access to the Shelby factory for this article.
There is only one original Cobra......anything except a Shelby Cobra is nothing but a kit car! All of Shelby's Cobras are produced with the orginal serial production numbers. Now days there are many companies, and car owners, that seem to be successful into fooling some consumers into thinking, if they buy an engine, and some knockoff body parts from some unknown source, that now they have a Cobra. What a joke!! These "kit cars" have no collectable, or investment value.
It all comes down to the real issue of, do you own the real thing, or some cheap imitation.
 |
| Ready to answer you r questions |
 |
| This is as real as it gets !! |
Also Cobra's produced and sold by Shelby dealers drive and perform on a level that is in keeping with Caroll Shelby's concept and mission. That being, gut wrenching excelleration and mind bending cornering. At the end of the day the car is a historical icon of American automotive history. No sane person would buy a 250LM Ferrari with a Chevy or Ford engine , because it looked the same, would they??? But real car collectors know that only Shelby's cars are built in only one place Las Vegas, Nevada. This is also the home for the Shelby Series 1.
Now the 289 Model Shebly Cobra.
The only place you can see a real Shelby Cobra is at the Shelby American Display. Every year you can find Caroll Chelby and the Shelby dealers at the Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale. There isn't any question that these guys won't be happy to answer. Once you get close to a real Shelby, or hear one of Shelby's engines run, you won't ever forget the phyiscal feeling the it puts into you.
Shelby's Cobras only come built to a rigid and specific requirements of Carroll Shelby's goals for performance. The Cobras will out perform almost any average driver. Be ready to get serious and improve your driving skills, in order to be able to enjoy all the performance of your Cobra.
The Shelby Cobra Challenge Race Car is based on Shelby American’s New 4000 series Cobra, which retains all of the character of the original Cobra while updating material standards for added strength and safety. The Challenge racer then incorporates extensive modifications to further improve safety and performance to meet today’s standards. A group of drivers including Parnelli Jones, Jerry Grant and Bob Bondurant, all team drivers for Shelby in the 60’s, as well as Mario Andretti, have tested and approved the car. The Challenge Cobra race cars are powered by 351 cubic inch Ford engine of approximately 450 horsepower and has already been certified by SCAA Pro Racing for safety.
All challenge race cars are being built in Las Vegas at Shelby American’s extensive car production facility under the direct supervision of Finish Line Motorsports who developed the race car and has been building Cobra’s for over twenty years.
Specifications
Performance Features
- Lightweight Shelby fiberglass body shell
- Specially triangulated and reinforced Shelby CSX4000 chassis (SCAA legal)
- Adjustable F/R upper control arms
- Adjustable coil-over shocks/springs
- Adjustable Tubular swaybars
- Competition brake system
- 351 aluminum head Ford engine
- Competition 4 –speed manual transmission
- Competition pressure plate and clutch
- Competition differential cooler
- Competition oil pan and cooler
- Fluidyne aluminum radiator
- 14 inch halibrand reproduction wheels
- Goodyear stock car special race slicks
- Competition headers and side pipe exhaust
Safety Features
- SCAA approved roll bar/intrusion system
- Racing bucket seat
- Simpson 5 point safety harness
- Woodward collapsible steering column, removable steering wheel
- On-board halon fire system
- Fuel safe fuel cell
