The Shelby Cobra 427 was on of the most powerful and formidable
sports cars every made. See more pictures of Shelby cars.
Its fenders bulging around fatter tires and its engine bay stuffed with brutal big-cube power, the 427 Cobra bowed in 1965. It was a menacing presence on the street, and like its 260 and 289 predecessors, a winner on the racetrack. This Shelby magic extended that same year to the Ford Mustang and turned that tame pony car into another road and track triumph.
Thoughtfully modified into a sharp-handling, sharp-looking fastback, the Shelby Mustang GT-350 put that 289-cubic-inch V-8 to fine use and established a race-winning reputation. Shelby honed the bigger-must-be-better principle by employing ever-larger V-8s, more body scoops, taller spoilers, stouter suspensions, and fatter tires to create such cars as the 427-cubic-inch Shelby Mustang GT-500 and the 428-cubic-inch Shelby Mustang GT-500KR.