Shelby and AC Cobra

Book excerpt: In the new edition of this classic text, Brian Laban brings the story of the AC Cobra up to date. In the early 1960s, a flamboyant Texan, Carroll Shelby, dreamed of a special kind of sports car, a marriage of European style with lusty, affordable American V8 power. He took his dream forward and he persuaded British sports car specialist AC Cars to build his car, and US industry giant the Ford Motor Co to fund it. Its name also came to him in a dream - Cobra. The original production of the Cobra lasted just five years and encompassed barely a thousand cars built within the original framework. But it was only the beginning of a story that is still very much alive, encompassing 'continuations', spin-offs, and a massive worldwide replica industry. Shelby and AC Cobra details the man behind the cars, the story of their development and engineering, racing pedigree and owning and driving these powerful, iconic cars today. Fully illustrated with 250 archive colour photographs.