RE: Showpiece of the Week: Shelby Cobra 427
Discussion
Amazing cars in their day. 0-60 in 4.2 seconds, in the mid 60s, must have seemed like a rocket ship. In fact, in reality, a 427 S/C with all the factory engine options would pull almost as hard, perhaps even as hard, as the quickest supercars available today. It was slowed down by various factors: 60s tyres, just four gears with a very high first blunting acceleration but still not quite high enough to hit 60 in first?, a notoriously poor front/rear weight distribution making it very difficult to get all the power down in first (apparently unsuspecting people have spun them in a straight line), and no launch control. It's not until you experience Detroit iron that you realise how good it is. If you put that S/C 427 V8 engine in a modern supercar with mid engined layout, modern tyres, gearing and launch control, I would expect it to be a whole lot quicker than 4.2 secs.
Johnny5hoods said:
Amazing cars in their day. 0-60 in 4.2 seconds, in the mid 60s, must have seemed like a rocket ship. ... you put that S/C 427 V8 engine in a modern supercar with mid engined layout, modern tyres, gearing and launch control, I would expect it to be a whole lot quicker than 4.2 secs.
Mid engined 427, yet bigger tires, less weight, clutchless gearbox that is basically what a mid 60s Lola T70b is. As for the launch control button..if you need to ask
ericmcn said:
One of the two 427's owned by the late John Woolfe in the late 1960's early 1970's, the other car being GTM 777F.
700F is one of the genuine full competition 427's, whereas 777F was a road car, but a very special one, with IIRC, a tunnel port 427 side-oiler installed, and for many years 777F held the record as the worlds fastest accelerating production car. Woolfe also had it converted to RHD.
coppice said:
No, no and no; neither 289 nor 427 (nor much else in period ) sported turbos and , headline grabbing alleged BHP figure apart ,how does it make it better ? I'll stick with a quartet of Webers thanks- and exhausts exiting at the rear . I don't take calls from Mr Vulgarity ...
I was just saying COB1 was at Nostalgia. Not my taste at all.A nice original right hand drive 289 for me.please.
Interesting barn find vid from the US showing a Cobra and a Ferrari 275 GTB(?0.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlRKSmHgzdE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlRKSmHgzdE
Ian Richardson reportedly had the next to last Cobra of the original production.
It held the class record at Silverstone for many years , he then went on to use an ex Can Am car and then put all the running gear in a Corvair .
If you ever get to drive a proper Cobra they don't go in a straight line as the torque twists everything, a race gearbox will quickly give you a big blister on the palm of your hand if not wearing gloves .
The most thrilling 5 laps of my life .
My bedroom wall as a teenager had several Cobras, the Countach and Dave Brodies Run baby Run .
It was a great time for cars but makes me feel old as all my youth is now in the classic category.
It held the class record at Silverstone for many years , he then went on to use an ex Can Am car and then put all the running gear in a Corvair .
If you ever get to drive a proper Cobra they don't go in a straight line as the torque twists everything, a race gearbox will quickly give you a big blister on the palm of your hand if not wearing gloves .
The most thrilling 5 laps of my life .
My bedroom wall as a teenager had several Cobras, the Countach and Dave Brodies Run baby Run .
It was a great time for cars but makes me feel old as all my youth is now in the classic category.
saaby93 said:
Can someone disect this for me
Err.....sort of obvious really?op said:
Many Anglo-American creations have achieved great fame. Fleetwood Mac. The Harrier Jump Jet. Winston Churchill. The atom bomb
Not the most obvious examples of Anglo-American by definition, but correct none-the-less.
aeropilot said:
saaby93 said:
Can someone disect this for me
Err.....sort of obvious really?op said:
Many Anglo-American creations have achieved great fame. Fleetwood Mac. The Harrier Jump Jet. Winston Churchill. The atom bomb
Not the most obvious examples of Anglo-American by definition, but correct none-the-less.
saaby93 said:
aeropilot said:
saaby93 said:
Can someone disect this for me
Err.....sort of obvious really?op said:
Many Anglo-American creations have achieved great fame. Fleetwood Mac. The Harrier Jump Jet. Winston Churchill. The atom bomb
Not the most obvious examples of Anglo-American by definition, but correct none-the-less.
ChilliWhizz said:
'The 427 will kill you in a second'
Brilliant, great piece of marketing
Certainly true of the person who bought CSX3303, which was the famous Super-Snake Cobra sold to Bill Cosby, who promptly handed it back to Shelby after scaring himself sBrilliant, great piece of marketing
tless in it. Shelby-American sold it on again, with the new owner destroying himself and the car soon after when he lost control of it on the Pacific Coast highway, careering off the cliffside road and down into the ocean/rock below.Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff