Shelby Cobra review

First you have to get in, reaching over the door to flick the little catch with your fingers, before giving the (potentially hot) exhaust a suitably wide berth, sliding your knee under the steering wheel and backside into the cupped chair. Not much to play with once you’re in, but lots to look at. The Smiths instruments, placed where they fit so that the water temperature gauge is what you see through the slender spokes of the steering wheel, are gorgeous; so too the bullet-shaped door mirror, the chrome and the massively offset pedals.

How offset are we talking?

They’re basically in a different postcode, forced to the outside by the huge transmission tunnel. As a result, the driving position is heavily skewed. All the controls operate with a meaty, yet precise action. There’s not even that much slop in the steering. If it rains you get wet. Yes, you can have a tonneau cover – even a full hood – but let’s just say the sealing around the panels and chassis isn’t impermeable.

Is it practical?

For your luggage maybe. But not for you. Travelling a long distance, or spending several hours in the Cobra at a time takes a certain amount of stubbornness. It’s raw, the engine vibrations, constant wind, road buzz and more are very wearing. 

Does your luggage get a better time of it?

Absolutely. The boot’s big and there’s still room for a 17-gallon fuel tank. The fuel gauge in the 427, however, isn’t the most accurate, and the speedo needle flaps back and forth giving no more than a broad suggestion of your speed. Again the CSX 10000 does it better. It feels like Shelby has troubleshot the issues and made the car more useable as a result.

No matter which one you pick, this is a car that brings the outside in. You’re aware of smells (not least pungent unburned hydrocarbons), sights and sounds, of being more involved with what’s going on outside the car. Which is chiefly the attention being directed your way.