The Excellence of the AC Cobra

Born out of the AC Ace, the Cobra 289 went straight into motorsport, with great success. The combination of the John Tojeiro-designed chassis, lightweight body, and Ford V8 made for a highly competitive package. Although the first few Cobras were fitted with the Ford Windsor 260ci V8 and retained the Ace’s steering-box set-up, the model was soon upgraded to the 289ci and rack-and-pinion steering. This is now known as the Mkll Cobra. Later, the MkIII model brought a big-block 427 Cobra and coil-spring suspension in place of the transverse leaf springs of the Ace and 289.

The picture below is one I took at the Concours of Elegance in 2020. The nearest car is the 1964 AC Cobra, with chassis COB6041, it is a 289 with an impressive international period competition history. It was sold new to Patrick McNally in 1964 and upgraded for endurance events by Alan Mann Racing, which was running the works Shelby Team in the World Sports Car Championship.

Fitted with an engine from a Cobra Daytona, 6041 competed as part of the Shelby Team at Rossfeld Hillelimb in 1965, earning points for the Championship with Bo Ljungfeldt setting a class record that stood until 1971. McNally continued to race his Cobra throughout the 1965 season at events across the UK before selling to Gerry Tyack.

Tyack, an experienced sprinter and hillclimber, set the FIA World 500-Metre and Quarter-Mile records in October 1966, and his exploits in this Cobra resulted in him being crowned 1966 Sports Car Division Drag Racing champion. From 1967, 6041 was raced throughout Europe by Nick Granville-Smith; the most notable result was a podium at the 1967 Mugello 500km, with the help of a Tuscan blacksmith when the wheel came off. Other races included the 1967 and 1969 editions of the Nürburgring 1000km, the latter of which saw 6041 compete against Porsche 917s and making it the last Cobra to enter the World Sportscar Championship.

Throughout its life, this Cobra has resided in the UK, and it continues to be raced and enjoyed up to the present day, with 6041 achieving third and second places at the 2015 and 2016 editions of the RAC TT Celebration race at Goodwood in the hands of Frank Stippler and Michael Squire.

ENGINE

4,7-litre V8, overhead-valve, 271bhp, four-barrel carburettor

CONFIGURATION

Front engine, four-speed manual transmission, rear-wheel drive, separate ladder chassis, transverse leaf-spring suspension front and rear, disc brakes all round