Chassis no.

SA9AK4272KA017281 French vehicle registration document Vehicle sold without a roadworthiness test“One of only 10 produced by Autokraft with the 427 ci engine!” In 1961, a certain Carroll Shelby – a Le Mans 24 Hours winner and maverick engineer – approached AC Cars in England, whose recent racing results were more than encouraging.

The aim: to fit a 3.6-litre Ford V8 onto the AC Ace chassis.

The base chassis were sent to the United States, and the major conversion began… As soon as the third car rolled out of the workshop, the brand-new Cobra was entered into a race – and proved a success.

Of the hundred units included in the initial contract between AC and Carroll Shelby, the final 25 were fitted with a bored-out version of the 4.2-litre V8, increased to 4.7 litres, or 289 ci.

The legend was born… The Cobra series would culminate with the 427, the crowning glory of the production run! Let’s fast-forward to the 1970s, to Brian Angliss’s workshop in England.

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