Cars

Shelby Cobra

Considering buying a Shelby Cobra ? If you are it will only take a couple of hours for you to understand that an original Shelby Cobra over 40 years old demands astronomical dollars on the used car market. To understand why this is so one needs to go back to the early 1960's on the european racing circuit.

It that time Enzo Ferrari and his cars were an unstoppable force on all of the major tracks of the day. During this time a small group of Americans were trying to win their fair share of races with no more luck against Ferrari than any one else of the day.

One of these americans was a man from Texas names Carrol Shelby. Shelby hit upon the idea of finding a lightweight capable car and stuffing an american V8 under the hood. With that as a blue print he located a lightweight aluminum bodied British sports car called the AC Ace. He then approached Ford and sold them on the concept of providing the then revolutionary 289 Cu In engine and transmission as used in the about to be released Mustangs.

Out of those initial concepts and discussions was born the Shelby Cobra , which went on to soundly trounce Ferrari's domination, winnning almost every race they were entered in. There were only a relativly small number of these original Shelby Cobra s built with the result that a car that originally sold for about $6500.00US new in the 1960's has sold in the seven figure price range and continues to appreciate to this day.

So, if you are not able to afford to pay a seven figure sum for your Shelby Cobra , does that mean you have to go without? Absolutely not, There are several Shelby Cobra replica manufacturers who produce exact full size Shelby Cobra replicas that are indistinguishable from the originals at prices comparible to what you would expect to pay for a mid level new Toyota.

Most of these Shelby Cobra replicas come in kit form, although there are companies that produce turn key cars but be aware that depending on where you live you may not be able to import a turn key kit car, so be sure to check with your Local, State or Federal Dept. of Transport before parting with your hard earned cash.

If your dream car is a Shelby Cobra your dream is very much within reach if you are willing to accept a look alike that provides all of the Shelby Cobra ownership experience without the original car cost.

Article Published: Monday 20th November 2006