Shelby Cobra Diecast

I've always liked Shelby Cobras, but for the longest time was in the dark about their racing history. I neglected collecting Shelby diecasts, as I never could fit them into any sort of historical perspective. That is, until I came upon an incredibly underpriced diecast car by Kyosho on eBay. It arrived, and I was so impressed with the quality I decided to start hunting down the rest. Kyosho quality is on a par with the elites of Minichamps and Trofeu.

The "Executive Summary" of the Shelby Cobra story is like so:

Former Air Force pilot instructor Carroll Shelby had raced in the US in the 1950's. He gained notoriety and was discovered by John Wyer (yes, the Gulf 917 guy), who was running the Aston Martin factory team. He won Le Mans in 1959, then retired to form his own driving school and racing team. In 1962 he then developed his own car based on a chassis designed by the English AC company.

That much I knew, except for the John Wyer tie-in. But then I found out more. The first few cobras had 260 cu.in. engines, and then many more with 289 (4.7 litre Ford) roadsters were made.

Class	Engine
Mark I	260
Mark II	289
Mark III	427
	428

1962

Riverside 3 Hours

The Cobra made its racing debut at a USAC-sanctioned GT race in 1962 at Riverside. It was non-championship support race for the L.A. Times GP. By pure coincidence, it was also the first race for the new-generation 1963 Corvette Stingray with the now-famous "Z06" option. Although a Corvette won, the Cobra was shown to be much faster until it retired.

Diecast Cobra Roadsters

While there are many companies that make diecast Shelby Cobras only a few are truly accurate. Bang has a line of models that are fairly accurate for the Mark II F.I.A. 289

USAC Sports Car Races - 1962
Place	Car Sponsor	Car # Class	Model	Ref. #	Image
Riverside 3 Hours (Non-Championship GT Event)
Shelby American
DNF	Shelby Cobra Bill Krause	98	Bang	422

1963

International Championship for GT Manufacturers - 1963
Place	Car Sponsor	Car # Class	Model	Ref. #	Image
Daytona
Shelby American
23	Shelby Cobra Skip Hudson	97	Bang	7293
Sebring
Shelby American
29	Shelby Cobra Dan Gurney Phil Hill	15	Bang	414

West Coast Swing

The USAC Road Racing Championship was discontinued in 1963, and in its place was the SCCA-sanctioned USRRC. But several major events in the fall remained as part of an unofficial USAC "Fall series". After the Players Canadian GP at Mosport, much of the international racing talent would continue on to the L.A. Times GP at riverside and the Pacific GP at Laguna Seca. These high-paying professional races would eventually form the Can-Am series.

USA 1963
Place	Car Sponsor	Car # Class	Model	Ref. #	Image
Riverside 1 Hour (Non-Championship GT Support Event for the LA Times GP)
2	Shelby Cobra 'Coventry Motors' Allen Grant	96	Bang	421
Laguna Seca (Pacific Grand Prix - Non-Championship Event)
11	Shelby Cobra 'Coventry Motors' Allen Grant	96	Bang	7292

1964

International Championship for GT Manufacturers - 1964
Place	Car Sponsor	Car # Class	Model	Ref. #	Image
Sebring
4	Shelby Cobra Daytona Bob Holbert Dave MacDonald Shelby American	10 GT 5.0	TrueScale	TSM134316
Targa Florio
Shelby American
8	Shelby Cobra 'Goodyear' Dan Gurney Allan Grant	146 GT+3.0	Bang	423
DNF	Shelby Cobra 'Goodyear' Phil Hill Bob Bondurant Shelby American	142 GT +3.0	Bang	7310
DNF	Shelby Cobra 'Goodyear' Masten Gregory Innes Ireland Shelby American	148 GT +3.0	Bang	7339
Customer Teams
DNF	Shelby Cobra Zourab Tchkotoua Tommy Hitchcock	152 GT+3.0	Bang	7352
Sierre Montagna
Shelby American
4	Shelby Cobra 'Goodyear' Bob Bondurant	176 GT+3.0	Bang	7342

1965

1965
Place	Car Sponsor	Car # Class	Model	Ref. #	Image
0	Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe	00	Kyosho	KO3051A
Reims
Shelby American
5	Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe Bob Bondurant Jo Schlesser	26	Kyosho	KO3051C
Le Mans
Scuderia Filippinetti
DNF	Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe Peter Harper Peter Sutcliffe	59	Kyosho	KO3051F

Sports Car Club of America - 1965
Place	Car Sponsor	Car # Class	Model	Ref. #	Image
Shelby American
0	Shelby Cobra Ken Miles	98 GT+2.0	Bang	7341

1966

Non-Championship Races - 1966
Place	Car Sponsor	Car # Class	Model	Ref. #	Image
Japan GP
Customer Team
3	Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe Tadashi Sakai	21	Kyosho	KO3051B