Ford Shelby Cobra
The Ford Shelby Cobra concept, like the legendary 1960s original, features a utilitarian body tightly wrapped around a race-bred engine and chassis. Every surface and line has its roots in the carÌs uncompromised performance.

"We let the powertrain, the space frame and the suspension dictate the architecture for the body," said Richard Hutting, chief designer. "The result was a very authentic, modern and desirable shape that does justice to the original Shelby Cobra, but doesnÌt share a single dimension or proportion with it."


A key engineering decision Ò to mount the conceptÌs six-speed manual transmission at the rear of the car Ò enabled designers to give the car almost 3 inches more legroom than similar competitorsÌ performance vehicles, while providing nearly perfect weight distribution.

Because the engine sits rearward of the front wheels, the front overhang is extraordinarily short. An equally brief rear overhang gives the Cobra concept a 100-inch wheelbase Ò longer than that of a Dodge Viper, but with a head-to-tail measurement that is more than 20 inches shorter. In fact, the front and rear overhangs are both shorter than on the 1965 Shelby Cobra Ò the rear considerably so.

These proportions place the Ford Shelby Cobra concept into a league of its own among production-feasible vehicles, communicating rear-drive power and serious performance. The car's stance on the road is unmistakably purposeful, with only 4.5 inches of clearance between the carbon-fiber chin spoiler and the pavement. From the rear, powerfully bulging wheel arches embrace the massive 19-inch rear wheels, signifying that thatÌs where the power comes to the ground.

Just as designers used the mechanical package to drive the Ford Shelby Cobra conceptÌs proportions and attitude, they drew from the carÌs racing persona to create a clean, unembellished "wrapper" for the powertrain and chassis.

The front section of the body is a forward-tilting "clamshell." This simple design provides immediate, wide-open access to the powertrain and front suspension while defining the clean hood profile. Prominent design elements include the oversized grille opening for the radiator and the chin scoop below it for the oil cooler.

The headlamps and driving lamps at the front of the car are stacked vertically, as on the original Shelby Cobra.

"These lamps, combined with the vertical billet-aluminum bumper bars, the grille opening and the muscular fenders, are the way the front of the concept communicates ÎCobra,Ì " Hutting said.

In character with the Ford Shelby Cobra conceptÌs uncompromised performance, there are no windshield wipers, no side windows and no convertible top Ò it is a fair-weather-only racing machine. To emphasize the clean body sides, designers also omitted door handles.

The decision to forgo exterior door handles left the team with a quandary: How do you open the doors? They briefly looked at incorporating an electronic button but settled on the original, elegantly simple Cobra solution of placing the inside handle up high, where it can easily be reached from outside the car.

Aluminum A-pillars and dual roll hoops behind the low-back seats are modern touches that expose the advanced aluminum space frame while echoing the form and function of the classic chrome roll hoops used on some original Cobras.

The Ford Shelby Cobra concept does without side mirrors in favour of a higher-tech, lower-drag design. A trio of video cameras Ò mounted high in each A-pillar and at the center of the windshield frame Ò create real-time colour images that are displayed on a digital version of the traditional center-mounted rear-view mirror. The images from each camera are stitched together on this liquid-crystal display to form a perfect 180-degree panorama of the competition.

Benefiting from four decades of aerodynamics research, the Ford Shelby Cobra concept departs from the original car by incorporating carbon-fiber "barge boards" to manage air extraction from the side vents, and a carbon-fibre diffuser in the rear to create downforce. These aerodynamic aids borrow heavily from wind tunnel lessons learned with the Ford GT and Formula 1 racing and were devised and tested with the aid of computational fluid dynamics software.

The rear transaxle cover is left exposed and becomes a design element that conveys mechanical strength. Small, stacked round taillamps and vertical billet-aluminum bumper bars subtly trace their bloodlines back to the original Cobra.

"Even within the very modern framework of the short overhang and exposed underbody aero effects," Hutting said, "the rear of the car has Cobra cues to connect it to the legend."


Rear-mounted transmission offers a huge advantage in interior packaging: The driver and passenger are positioned close together near the vehicle centerline and separated by a narrow driveline tunnel. The spacious foot wells are nearly rectangular, in marked contrast to vehicles where the transmission tunnel hump severely restricts the driverÌs foot room on the right, or the front wheel intrudes on the left Ò or both. The Ford Shelby Cobra concept driving position is comfortable and ergonomic, with an adjustable steering column.

The cockpit is trimmed in aluminum, with electric blue splashed on the seat trim and steering column. A full-width aluminum instrument panel spans the cockpit in one unbroken swath Ò a throwback to the true "dash boards" of yesteryear and a contrast with todayÌs driver-centric cockpits. Instruments include a 220-mph speedometer, 10,000-rpm tachometer and critical temperature and pressure readouts.

Details
Make	Ford Shelby
Model	Cobra
Year Shown	2004
Event	North American Auto Show
Designer(s)	Richard Hutting
Propulsion
Type	Petrol V10
Capacity	6.4l / 605 hp
Dimensions
Vehicle Width (mm)	n/a
Vehicle Length (mm)	n/a
Seating Capacity	2
Performance
Top Speed	n/a
0-60	n/a