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[WTMHouston]

Ford unveils the new Shelby Cobra 
By Jeremy Grant in Detroit (Financial Times)
Published: January 5 2004 9:24 / Last Updated: January 5 2004 9:24 

Ford Motor returned to its racing roots by unveiling late on Sunday a new version of its Ford Shelby Cobra, a two-seater, V10 roadster developed in collaboration with US racing car driver Carroll Shelby.

The vehicle was designed to highlight Ford’s focus on developing its passenger cars in the next two years, and was displayed at the Detroit motor show alongside another racing vehicle, the latest version of Ford’s GT.

While no decision has been made on whether to bring the Shelby Cobra into commercial production, the GT goes on sale later this year for under $150,000 per vehicle. Ford expects to sell about 5,000 GTs in the next five years and maintains a waiting list of potential customers for the vehicle.

Ford has invested heavily in the revival of its racing image in order to win back customers, especially in North America, after years focusing on sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks.

Although margins on limited production, high-performance vehicles are modest, Ford expects the GT and Shelby Cobra – should it go into production – to be profitable. Sir Nick Scheele, Ford's chief operating officer, said: “We are a company founded on our racing and I think many of us believe that our future is bound up with motor racing. We have to do this. But we are not doing anything now that doesn’t have a business case.”

He said about 120 GTs would be fitted with left-hand drive steering for sale in Europe.

The 600-horsepower Shelby Cobra is built on the same basic undercarriage as the GT. It has no roof, is capable of 195 miles per hour and manages zero to 60 miles an hour in under four seconds.

Mr Shelby, now in his 70s, rose to prominence when he won Europe’s prestigious 24-hour endurance race at Le Mans in 1959, driving an Aston Martin.

He had driven his second Ford-powered race car in 1962, an early mock-up for the Cobra, which he subsequently raced in.

In January 1965, Ford hired Mr Shelby to help on the carmaker’s plans for the GT40 racing car, the precursor to the GT but development of the Cobra continued, with the vehicle competing against General Motor’s Corvette.

In 1965, Mr Shelby introduced the 427 Cobra – the car many enthusiasts herald as the ultimate street-legal racer.

-end

Source: Financial Times

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