RE: AC and Shelby Start Production
Monday 9th February 2004
AC and Shelby Start Production
Frimley and Las Vegas join forces to produce latest Cobra
Yet another chapter in Cobra history opens today with the news that the first new "Shelby AC" model in more than four decades will arrive at dealers and consumers in the Summer of 2004.
The cars being built by AC in the UK will now be shipped to the US and branded as 'Shelby AC' following an agreement between the two companies late last year.
The handcrafted aluminium Cobra body shell produced at AC’s plant in Frimley, Surrey, will be shipped to Shelby Automobiles in Las Vegas for final assembly, fit and finish.
Initially the Cobra will be offered in two models, the Shelby AC 427 S/C Cobra and the Shelby AC 289 FIA Cobra. Shelby have given them the more motorbike-like monikers of CSX 1000 and the CSX 7500 Series.
The new partnership will see more than 20 Shelby dealers across the USA punting out the cars. Prices have not yet been established but first deliveries to dealers and customers are likely in the summer of 2004.
“We want to recreate products with true heritage and quality as we did in the 1960’s and use this to expand and propel us into future new products ,” said Carroll Shelby, chairman of Carroll Shelby International.
“It is fantastic that these two great brands are together once again, meaning that car enthusiasts throughout the world can once again be certain that they are purchasing a Cobra with the original genuine pedigree ,” said Alan Lubinsky, Chairman of "AC Motor Holdings Ltd".
The agreement between the two companies comes after years of confusion over the Cobra and the various companies and holding companies responsible for manufacture and sale.
The current set up is as follows:
- Carroll Shelby International, Inc. is the parent company of Shelby Automobiles and Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc
- Shelby Automobiles Inc. is manufacturing Shelby vehicles under the guidance of the Carroll Shelby and plans to increase production and availability of these Shelby products through an expanded dealer network and direct sales under a license agreement with Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc.
- Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc., was founded in 1988 and is responsible for all of Shelby's trademarks.
- AC Motor Holdings Ltd is the latest of many incarnations of the AC marque.
Is that clear now? 
Links
Discussion
For some reason Shelby have to give them the more motorbike like monikers of CSX 1000 and the CSX 7500 Series.
FYI-
CSXR---- chassis numbers stand for Carroll Shelby Export (Race Cars Only), with the CSX---- chassis model type standing for Carroll Shelby Export- ie the road legal version of the racing car.
FYI-
CSXR---- chassis numbers stand for Carroll Shelby Export (Race Cars Only), with the CSX---- chassis model type standing for Carroll Shelby Export- ie the road legal version of the racing car.
Pistonfest said:
FYI-
CSXR---- chassis numbers stand for Carroll Shelby Export (Race Cars Only), with the CSX---- chassis model type standing for Carroll Shelby Export- ie the road legal version of the racing car.
There was never a CSXR---- The only Chassis numbers were CS2030,2130,2131;CSX2000-2702;CSX3001-3360;COB/COX6001-6127. There were 2 race cars designated CSX2557R + CSX2558R, but All other racecars had no R.The CSX designation was specifically for the North American market, COB was for UK & COX all other destinations.
Nick, lets not let this get out of hand, but I beg to differ.
My grandfather (god bless his soul), was a tyre technician for Goodyear Racing Division & SAAC back in the 60's, & was given a 427s/c by Shelby when Ol' Shel' ran out of funds and could not pay his race team staff. This car was fully race prepared & road-going/ legal to UK & US standards......afetr he died I inherited & owned this car for about 5 years in the uk, and the chassis number was CSXR4010. It originated as a race car, that eventually ended up on the road over here, after being lovingly restored (body only) by my Grandfather. It is still registered by Shelby American, signed by Shelby on the dash & bulkhead, and has been driven by Shelby himself (& Bob Bondurant, Phil Hill, Roy Salvadori, Sterling Moss, Tony Brooks etc) at many rallies both here & in the US, and is featured in The Adrian Legate book (which name escapes me right now). Somewhere there are photos of the car being tested at Laguna Seca, Monterey, & other classic racetracks too.......
Seems like the old history is still as confusing as ever, eh !
edited to add:
Perhaps I should have put my original post in the past tense....instead of saying "stand/ stands", maybe I should have said "stood".
>> Edited by Pistonfest on Monday 9th February 21:58
My grandfather (god bless his soul), was a tyre technician for Goodyear Racing Division & SAAC back in the 60's, & was given a 427s/c by Shelby when Ol' Shel' ran out of funds and could not pay his race team staff. This car was fully race prepared & road-going/ legal to UK & US standards......afetr he died I inherited & owned this car for about 5 years in the uk, and the chassis number was CSXR4010. It originated as a race car, that eventually ended up on the road over here, after being lovingly restored (body only) by my Grandfather. It is still registered by Shelby American, signed by Shelby on the dash & bulkhead, and has been driven by Shelby himself (& Bob Bondurant, Phil Hill, Roy Salvadori, Sterling Moss, Tony Brooks etc) at many rallies both here & in the US, and is featured in The Adrian Legate book (which name escapes me right now). Somewhere there are photos of the car being tested at Laguna Seca, Monterey, & other classic racetracks too.......
Seems like the old history is still as confusing as ever, eh !
edited to add:
Perhaps I should have put my original post in the past tense....instead of saying "stand/ stands", maybe I should have said "stood".
>> Edited by Pistonfest on Monday 9th February 21:58
Hi Pistonfest. I`m now intrigued.
I was basing the above post on the records of the ACOC Cobra registrar, Robin Stainer, from January,2004.
"All Cobras were made by AC and recorded in the Factory Ledger, known colloquially as The Bible. Each model run was allocated a starting chassis number: all chassis made into a Shelby or AC were numbered sequentially, and every chassis has been accounted for. The AC Factory Ledger still exists, and is held at the AC Car Group’s factory in Frimley. The Ledger entry is shown in bold against each car, and the spelling and content are as per the original. Minor details, such as addresses, have not been reproduced. The 996 chassis numbers assigned to a vehicle are:
Shelby Leaf-spring chassis (654 cars)
260 CSX 2000 to 2029
CS 2030
289 CSX 2075 to 2129
CS 2130 & 2131
CSX 2132 to 2589
CSX 2601 & 2602
AC Leaf-spring chassis (62 cars)
289 COX/COB 6001 to 6051
COX/COB 6053 to 6062
A 98 (Le Mans Coupe)
Shelby Coil-spring chassis (342 cars)
427 CSX 3001 to 3055
CSX 3101 to 3360
AC Coil-spring chassis (27 cars)
289 COX/COB 6101 to 6127
(C=Cobra, S=Shelby, X=Export, CO=CObra [AC used the term as a chassis number prefix, but were not allowed to use it as a brand], B=Britain, A98=the AC drawing number)
Three more chassis numbers were allocated, but not used to manufacture a vehicle. COB 6052 was laid down as a chassis; however, the chassis was used to repair 6040, which had been badly damaged in a racing accident. CSX 2701 and CSX 2702 were the first two coil-spring cars, but after they had been shipped from the AC works it was decided that the coil-spring series should start with a three, so 2701 & 2702 were renumbered 3001 & 3002.
For the most part, the rolling chassis and body of Shelby cars were sent from Thames Ditton to Venice, California, where engines and transmissions were installed and cars finished. All Shelby cars are LHD, except where noted. AC cars were completely assembled in Thames Ditton, and are RHD unless noted.
All completed cars were roadsters, except for the AC Le Mans coupé (A98) and six Shelby Daytona coupés (CSX 2286, 2287, 2299, 2300, 2601 and 2602).
Where they are now
AC recorded the delivery address of each AC-finished Cobra, as did Shelby American for each US-finished car. Last Known Location has 73 ACs in Europe and 11 in North America; 103 Shelby cars are now outside North America, 90 in Europe and the rest far-flung:
Leaf-spring cars Coil-spring cars
AC Shelby AC Shelby
United Kingdom 35 19 12 4
Continental Europe 19 39 7 28
Asia - 3 1 8
Australia 1 - 2 2
Africa 1 - - -
Shelby Outside Americas 61 42
Americas 6 531 5 273
Total 62 592 27 315
The Register records all the 89 AC cars made (62 plus 27) and the 103 (61 plus 42) Shelby cars known to be outside the Americas. For information on the 804 Shelby cars in the Americas, see the Shelby American World Register. "
The nearest reference I can find is CSX 4010 which was built 13/5/96 and owned by D.Wagner of AC Cobra parts, Michigan, USA.
I`d love to know more about your car,
regards, Nik.
The book...Trevor Legate`s "Cobra...the Real Thing" I`ll have a look when i get home from work!
>> Edited by nikbj68 on Monday 2nd August 20:55
I was basing the above post on the records of the ACOC Cobra registrar, Robin Stainer, from January,2004.
"All Cobras were made by AC and recorded in the Factory Ledger, known colloquially as The Bible. Each model run was allocated a starting chassis number: all chassis made into a Shelby or AC were numbered sequentially, and every chassis has been accounted for. The AC Factory Ledger still exists, and is held at the AC Car Group’s factory in Frimley. The Ledger entry is shown in bold against each car, and the spelling and content are as per the original. Minor details, such as addresses, have not been reproduced. The 996 chassis numbers assigned to a vehicle are:
Shelby Leaf-spring chassis (654 cars)
260 CSX 2000 to 2029
CS 2030
289 CSX 2075 to 2129
CS 2130 & 2131
CSX 2132 to 2589
CSX 2601 & 2602
AC Leaf-spring chassis (62 cars)
289 COX/COB 6001 to 6051
COX/COB 6053 to 6062
A 98 (Le Mans Coupe)
Shelby Coil-spring chassis (342 cars)
427 CSX 3001 to 3055
CSX 3101 to 3360
AC Coil-spring chassis (27 cars)
289 COX/COB 6101 to 6127
(C=Cobra, S=Shelby, X=Export, CO=CObra [AC used the term as a chassis number prefix, but were not allowed to use it as a brand], B=Britain, A98=the AC drawing number)
Three more chassis numbers were allocated, but not used to manufacture a vehicle. COB 6052 was laid down as a chassis; however, the chassis was used to repair 6040, which had been badly damaged in a racing accident. CSX 2701 and CSX 2702 were the first two coil-spring cars, but after they had been shipped from the AC works it was decided that the coil-spring series should start with a three, so 2701 & 2702 were renumbered 3001 & 3002.
For the most part, the rolling chassis and body of Shelby cars were sent from Thames Ditton to Venice, California, where engines and transmissions were installed and cars finished. All Shelby cars are LHD, except where noted. AC cars were completely assembled in Thames Ditton, and are RHD unless noted.
All completed cars were roadsters, except for the AC Le Mans coupé (A98) and six Shelby Daytona coupés (CSX 2286, 2287, 2299, 2300, 2601 and 2602).
Where they are now
AC recorded the delivery address of each AC-finished Cobra, as did Shelby American for each US-finished car. Last Known Location has 73 ACs in Europe and 11 in North America; 103 Shelby cars are now outside North America, 90 in Europe and the rest far-flung:
Leaf-spring cars Coil-spring cars
AC Shelby AC Shelby
United Kingdom 35 19 12 4
Continental Europe 19 39 7 28
Asia - 3 1 8
Australia 1 - 2 2
Africa 1 - - -
Shelby Outside Americas 61 42
Americas 6 531 5 273
Total 62 592 27 315
The Register records all the 89 AC cars made (62 plus 27) and the 103 (61 plus 42) Shelby cars known to be outside the Americas. For information on the 804 Shelby cars in the Americas, see the Shelby American World Register. "
The nearest reference I can find is CSX 4010 which was built 13/5/96 and owned by D.Wagner of AC Cobra parts, Michigan, USA.
I`d love to know more about your car,
regards, Nik.
The book...Trevor Legate`s "Cobra...the Real Thing" I`ll have a look when i get home from work!
>> Edited by nikbj68 on Monday 2nd August 20:55
Hi Paul I have come accross a post of a car you once owned, a friend of mine Lisa Reedy has asked me to sell her AC Cobra for her and it appears to be the same car , I was wondering if you could confirm this ?
simonisles@sky.com
Many Thanks
Simon
Pistonfest said:
Nick, lets not let this get out of hand, but I beg to differ.
My grandfather (god bless his soul), was a tyre technician for Goodyear Racing Division & SAAC back in the 60's, & was given a 427s/c by Shelby when Ol' Shel' ran out of funds and could not pay his race team staff. This car was fully race prepared & road-going/ legal to UK & US standards......afetr he died I inherited & owned this car for about 5 years in the uk, and the chassis number was CSXR4010. It originated as a race car, that eventually ended up on the road over here, after being lovingly restored (body only) by my Grandfather. It is still registered by Shelby American, signed by Shelby on the dash & bulkhead, and has been driven by Shelby himself (& Bob Bondurant, Phil Hill, Roy Salvadori, Sterling Moss, Tony Brooks etc) at many rallies both here & in the US, and is featured in The Adrian Legate book (which name escapes me right now). Somewhere there are photos of the car being tested at Laguna Seca, Monterey, & other classic racetracks too.......
Seems like the old history is still as confusing as ever, eh !
edited to add:
Perhaps I should have put my original post in the past tense....instead of saying "stand/ stands", maybe I should have said "stood".
>> Edited by Pistonfest on Monday 9th February 21:58
My grandfather (god bless his soul), was a tyre technician for Goodyear Racing Division & SAAC back in the 60's, & was given a 427s/c by Shelby when Ol' Shel' ran out of funds and could not pay his race team staff. This car was fully race prepared & road-going/ legal to UK & US standards......afetr he died I inherited & owned this car for about 5 years in the uk, and the chassis number was CSXR4010. It originated as a race car, that eventually ended up on the road over here, after being lovingly restored (body only) by my Grandfather. It is still registered by Shelby American, signed by Shelby on the dash & bulkhead, and has been driven by Shelby himself (& Bob Bondurant, Phil Hill, Roy Salvadori, Sterling Moss, Tony Brooks etc) at many rallies both here & in the US, and is featured in The Adrian Legate book (which name escapes me right now). Somewhere there are photos of the car being tested at Laguna Seca, Monterey, & other classic racetracks too.......
Seems like the old history is still as confusing as ever, eh !
edited to add:
Perhaps I should have put my original post in the past tense....instead of saying "stand/ stands", maybe I should have said "stood".
>> Edited by Pistonfest on Monday 9th February 21:58
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