Shelby Cobras AC Cobra 2, 427 & 427 S/C Carroll Shelby was well known in British racing circles after winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in an Aston Martin DBR1/300 in 1959 So when a letter from Shelby arrived at AC Cars in England in 1961 proposing he reengineer an Ace chassis to accept a Ford V8, AC was immediately interested