Shelby American and
    Finish Line Motorsports

    By Art Nadler

    In 1962 the automotive world was rocked - not by the three big car manufacturers in Detroit - but by a former professional race car driver named Carroll Shelby who took the little-known AC English sports car and transformed it into the legendary Cobra muscle machine.

    Over the decades, the 289 cubic inch engine Cobra and its big brother - the massive 427 S/C - have become the epitome and envy of professional race car drivers and racing enthusiasts. Less than 1,000 of the original aluminum-body Cobras were manufactured worldwide. Today, these quickly recognizable sports cars, with their flared fenders and throaty side exhaust pipes, fetch anywhere from $140,000 to more than $200,000. Originally, they sold for under $6,000.

    You may never find an original Cobra, but for $80,000 to $140,000 and up, you can have one custom built at Carroll Shelby's Shelby American Inc. factory in Las Vegas, NV. Original blueprints are used to machine parts to exact specifications. These are not kit cars with Cobra bodies bolted onto Volkswagen chassis. They are the real things, each coming with a manufacturer's serial number.

    Shelby American builds 427 S/C and 289 models, minus the engine and transmission. The cars are sent to an authorized Shelby distributor, Finish Line Motorsports Inc. of Las Vegas, for completion. At Finish Line, other custom components can also be ordered.

    Besides the classic Cobras, Shelby American builds its new Series 1 Cobra. This vehicle is powered by a 320 horsepower 4 liter Oldsmobile Aurora V8. The body is lightweight carbon fiber with a chassis constructed of tubular and honey-comb aluminum.

    While the classic 427 S/C goes from 0 to 60 mph in 4 seconds, the Series 1 accelerates to 60 mph in just over 4 seconds. The Series 1, which is completely built at Shelby America, sells for $174,975. Production, according to Gary Patterson, director of marketing and public relations, will end when 500 handmade vehicles are built.

    "This is today's technology," Patterson says of the new Series 1. "The Series 1 is a user-friendly race car for the street." Shelby started manufacturing the Series 1 and classic Cobras in 1996. The plant, which is comprised of four buildings including a museum, occupies 160,000 square feet in the Las Vegas Motor Speedway industrial park. The speedway is located approximately 5 1/2 miles north on Interstate 15 past the Craig Road exit.

    While the Series 1 only comes in a carbon fiber body, classic Cobras are available in either a fiberglass or aluminum body style. Pre-cast aluminum bodies are manufactured in Poland, Paterson says. Hand rolled aluminum bodies crafted from sheet aluminum can be built for an additional cost of $49,500 per car.

    Finish Line Motorsports also builds classic Cobras using tooled parts from original designs. The authorized Shelby dealer offers modifications such as a stronger triangular chassis tubing roll cage, vented three-piston brake upgrades, fuel injection instead of a standard four-barrel carburetor and much more.

    Roy Hunt, president of Finish Line, says a Cobra with upgrades could easily cost from $100,000 to $200,000. And everything is designed to original Cobra specifications. "I could take this wiring harness and put it in an actual 1965 Cobra and it would fit," Hunt says. "When people buy our cars, they are buying the real Cobra."

    Hunt estimates his seven-man crew completes about 20 Cobras a year. Each vehicle takes an average of 500 man-hours to complete with some custom models requiring 1,500 man-hours.

    Finish Line Motorsports was formed in January 1997 to sell components for Shelby American, Hunt says. He feels that the new Cobras, with higher quality components and upgrades, run better and faster and are safer than the 1960 models.

    "The original Cobras were built to race," Patterson says. "Now, we are building them to race quality, but with more comforts and to be driven everyday (on the street)." Soon, the classic 427 S/C body style Cobra will be back on the professional racing circuit, thanks to the efforts of Finish Line Motorsports.

    The Shelby Cobra Challenge Senior Racing Series, featuring such retired drivers as Mario Andretti, Emerson Fittipaldi, Bob Bondurant and Bobby Unser will be participating in Cobra support races in CART weekends at Portland, Road America, Cleveland and Laguna Seca and the Winston Cup weekend at Watkins Glen.

    The Challenge Cobra cars will have 351 cubic inch Ford engines putting out approximately 450 horsepower. The cars will be certified by SCCA Pro Racing and have modified safety equipment such as: specially triangulated and reinforced chassis, racing brake systems, SCCA approved roll bar system, collapsible steering columns, an onboard fire safety system, etc.

    For more information, contact:
    Shelby American Inc., 6755 Speedway Blvd., Las Vegas, NV. 89115.
    Phone: (702) 643-3000. Fax: (702) 643-5777.
    Web Site: www.shelbyamerican.com

    Finish Line Motorsports Inc., 6975 Speedway Blvd., Suite D-101, Las Vegas, NV. 89115. Phone: (702) 643-7994. Fax: (702) 643-7972