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Automotive Lifestyle
VINTAGE: Two Rare Cobra FIA Roadsters
The survivors of the original five altered by Shelby to compete in GT competition were seen at Monterey events celebrating the sports car’s 50th anniversary.
The second Cobra built to FIA Roadster specifications is fully restored and a regular participant at the Monterey Motorsports Reunion. (Photo: Wouter Melissen)
In a cruel twist of fate, this year's 50th anniversary celebrations of the Cobra coincidently doubled as fitting tributes to its creator Carroll Shelby, who passed away on May 10th. We have been treated to a fabulous selection of Cobras throughout the year, and now we take a look at two of the very best.
They are the remaining examples of the five FIA Roadsters built ahead of the 1964 season to compete in the FIA World Championship. Raced alongside the much better known Cobra Daytona Coupe, they took the fight to Ferrari and scored GT class wins at such legendary tracks as Spa and the Nurburgring, as well as the Targa Florio.
Compared with the earlier Cobras, the FIA Roadsters featured many subtle changes to both increase performance and comply with the strict homologation requirements.
These are the only two examples to have survived as complete cars, and we managed to capture both this year, resulting in this 30-shot gallery.
The earliest of the pair has been completely restored and is pictured in action during the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, while the other was presented in time-warp condition at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Believed to be only Cobra team car that is this original, the latter not surprisingly won the special Cobra class at Pebble.
Carroll Shelby, having conquered the national USRRC Championship in 1963 with the Cobra, set his sights on the FIA World Championship in 1964. Run for GT cars, the prestigious championship had been dominated by the Ferrari 250 GTO.
Shelby pulled out all stops to ensure the Cobra was up to the task and developed two distinct versions for his works team. For the high-speed circuits, a coupe version was created while a more subtly modified Cobra was readied for the tighter tracks. Known as the FIA Roadster, the latter is the ultimate development of the original, small-block Cobra.
The five FIA Roadsters were easily distinguishable from the earlier Cobras by a variety of detail changes to the aluminum body. These were made to both comply with the strict FIA homologation regulations and further improve the performance.
Compared with the Cobras raced in the United States, the most obvious visual change was the full-width windscreen that was required for the car to be homologated as a GT. It was tilted back as far as the rules allowed to reduce drag. More subtle were the two bumps on the rear deck that were needed to clear the mandatory luggage with the enlarged, 140-liter (37-gallon) fuel tank in place.
They are the remaining examples of the five FIA Roadsters built ahead of the 1964 season to compete in the FIA World Championship. Raced alongside the much better known Cobra Daytona Coupe, they took the fight to Ferrari and scored GT class wins at such legendary tracks as Spa and the Nurburgring, as well as the Targa Florio.
Compared with the earlier Cobras, the FIA Roadsters featured many subtle changes to both increase performance and comply with the strict homologation requirements.
These are the only two examples to have survived as complete cars, and we managed to capture both this year, resulting in this 30-shot gallery.
The earliest of the pair has been completely restored and is pictured in action during the Monterey Motorsports Reunion, while the other was presented in time-warp condition at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Believed to be only Cobra team car that is this original, the latter not surprisingly won the special Cobra class at Pebble.
Carroll Shelby, having conquered the national USRRC Championship in 1963 with the Cobra, set his sights on the FIA World Championship in 1964. Run for GT cars, the prestigious championship had been dominated by the Ferrari 250 GTO.
Shelby pulled out all stops to ensure the Cobra was up to the task and developed two distinct versions for his works team. For the high-speed circuits, a coupe version was created while a more subtly modified Cobra was readied for the tighter tracks. Known as the FIA Roadster, the latter is the ultimate development of the original, small-block Cobra.
The five FIA Roadsters were easily distinguishable from the earlier Cobras by a variety of detail changes to the aluminum body. These were made to both comply with the strict FIA homologation regulations and further improve the performance.
Compared with the Cobras raced in the United States, the most obvious visual change was the full-width windscreen that was required for the car to be homologated as a GT. It was tilted back as far as the rules allowed to reduce drag. More subtle were the two bumps on the rear deck that were needed to clear the mandatory luggage with the enlarged, 140-liter (37-gallon) fuel tank in place.
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