Cobra is back in the Big Apple
Iconic one-of-a-kind automobile unveiled 50 years ago by builder
It was 50 years ago at the New York Auto Show that Carroll Shelby showed off his new Cobra to the public for the first time.
“When he pulled the silk cover off that car, it not only changed his life but it changed the face of performance automobiles,” says John Luft, president of Shelby-american Ltd. “That’s the car that started it all.” This year, that very first Cobra will be back on display at the New York show, which opens to the public next Friday. Media preview days are next Wednesday and Thursday and Toronto Star Wheels writers will be there.
“We’ve brought back historical vehicles in the past,” said Chris Sams, a spokesperson for the New York show. But he said the show has never before had an actual car return that was one-of-a-kind like this one.
“This car is an important piece of automotive history.”
Carroll Shelby has owned that first Cobra, known as CSX2000, from Day One and it’s usually on display at the Shelby Museum in Las Vegas.
Shelby’s first Cobra was just one of 450 vehicles on display at the ’62 New York show, which also included turbine-powered cars from Chrysler and Rover; the Voltra, an electric car made in New York; and the new Studebaker Avanti.
Concept cars included the Mercury Palomar station wagon; the Pontiac Monte Carlo, a shortened, twoseater convertible Pontiac Tempest and the Ford Cougar 406 with gull-wing doors.
It’s not known whether Shelby, who is 89 and suffering from health issues, will be able to get to New York to show off the car. But he has fond memories of the 1962 debut.
Said Luft: “He mentioned to me the other day, ‘You know, when we unveiled the first Cobra, I personally stood there and handed out brochures.’ He has great memories of New York.”
Shelby was a top racing car driver in the 1950s and won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959 while driving for Aston Martin.
But a bum heart forced him to stop racing. That’s when he switched gears and began building cars.
In the early 1960s, Shelby heard that a British automaker, AC Cars, had lost one of its engine suppliers. The firm, which had been producing cars since 1903 and was originally known as Auto Carriers, often used outside suppliers. One of its models was a light, two-seater convertible sports car introduced in 1953, the AC Ace.
“Shelby went to AC Cars in England and told them that he had a deal with Ford for their new smallblock V8 and if they would supply him with the body and chassis, then he would put a car together. But he hadn’t actually talked to Ford yet. “Then he went to Ford and said, ‘Look, I’ve got AC Cars willing to give me a body and chassis if you’ll supply me with a motor.’ He negotiated each deal independently, and got both of them to step up and provide what they had, and that became the car that was introduced at the New York Auto Show in 1962,” Luft said. After the Cobra was unveiled, automotive journalists wanted to get their hands on one for a test drive. But there was only one Cobra — the CSX2000. Luft says Shelby wanted to create the impression that his fledgling car company was bigger than it actually was. “He would give the car to one publication for a test drive. When he would get it back, he would have it painted a different colour. Then, two days later, he would give it to another publication. The car was repainted half-a-dozen different colors over a short period of time just to give the perception to the press and the public that there were multiple Cobras being built. But in fact, there was only one Cobra.” Car and Driver magazine said in March, 1963: “Very simply stated, the AC Cobra attained higher performance figures than any other production automobile we have tested. And it did it with the ‘street’ engine.”
The Shelby-cobra soon proved that it could win races against Corvettes, Jaguars, Maseratis and Porsches. In the years that followed, Shelby put larger motors in the Cobras, and the biggest was the Ford 427 cubic inch engine.
After the success of the Cobra, Carroll Shelby then modified Ford Mustangs, creating the Shelby-Mustang GT350S and GT500S from 1965 to1970. During the1980s, Shelby made high-performance versions of Dodges.
These days, Shelby-american is again making high-performance versions of the Ford Mustang, as well as various versions of the Cobra, at the Shelby American headquarters in Las Vegas.
And it all started with the CSX2000. wheels@thestar.ca