Shelby Cobra in the Road America Paddock

Description

In 1962, ex-race car driver Carroll Shelby installed Ford's 260 cubic inch V8 in the 10-year old British AC Bristol sports car to create the Shelby Cobra. Big V8's in lightweight sports cars had been done before, but never with the sponsorship of a major carmaker like Ford. Over the years before production ended in 1967, the fenders and tires got fatter and the engines got bigger (all the way up to 427c.i.), and it spawned a raft of kit car imitations and subsequent reproductions by Shelby himself. British carmaker Sunbeam was inspired to shove that same 260 V8 under the hood of its Alpine sportscar to produce the Tiger. It lasted only a few years before Sunbeam was bought by Chrysler.

Keywords

Chicago, Road, America, Elkhart, Lake, Wisconsin, Shelby, Cobra, 260, 289, 351, 390, 427, AC, Ace, Bristol, sports, car, motor, V8, V-8, Ford, auto, automobile

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