Test drive Shelby Cobra 427, Dodge Viper RT / 10: S brute force

Cobra is an established classic - rare and expensive. Does Viper have the qualities to become one?

Racer and poultry farmer Carol Shelby once delighted the world with the most brutal roadster, the Cobra 427. Its rightful successor as a show of brute force is the Evasive Viper RT/10.

The idea of ​​this article inspired everyone in the editor: Cobra vs. Viper! 90-year-old prehistoric monster AC Cars and Shelby American against their (also co-created with Carl Shelby) successor from the 10s. Check if the poison of the two snakes is still working. And of course, because we want to know for sure if the VXNUMX Viper sports car has a chance to become a classic.

This story will remain unwritten. Exceptionally, this was not due to the unpredictable vagaries of the weather (in the rain, such a performance with a lot of horsepower would be completely unthinkable) or due to the full schedule of participants. No, the problem was different: the real Cobra 427 cannot be found around every corner. Connoisseurs of the collectibles scene talk about 30 cars in Germany, including the earlier Cobra 260 and 289. And not every owner will test drive a car that was recently priced at seven figures.

Maybe, as a last resort, you should still show a copy? To 1002 original Shelby Cobra are added about 40 (!) Copies of countless manufacturers who have tried their hand at this car mainly since the 000s. The range ranges from cheap plastic mounting kits under 80hp. to the so-called authorized copies, some of which are said to have chassis numbers before 100 (be careful when buying!).

Perhaps, in no other classic car, the line between the original and the fake is not so thin. And therein lies the complexity of our design: to delve into the history of the Cobra - which, given the many myths that have accumulated around this model, is not an easy task - strictly speaking, you only need a real Shelby car. . Or not at all.

The decisive help in the end came not from the Cobra fans, but from the Viper fans. It turned out that Roland Tübezing, President of Viperclub Deutschland, was able to bring to Stuttgart not only the first generation Viper RT / 10, but also the purebred Cobra 427, which practically lived around the corner. Why didn't we ask him right away? We promise we will do just that next time.

Powerful acceleration

In a few days we are at the agreed meeting place. A straight stretch of road where the Swabian Jura Mountains really are as uninhabited as countless guidebooks promise. But before we move on to the duel between old and young, the pilots have little time to get to know their rivals. From the slim, Barchetta-like aluminum figure of Shelby's first 1962 Cobra in '260 and the subsequent Cobra 289 (the posh bodywork comes from the British AC Ace roadster) in the case of the modern 1965 Cobra from '427. a more massive and much more aggressive car came out with much wider wings and an even larger gaping mouth. In fact, the brute force of a big-block Ford V8 engine could hardly have packed it any other way. The working volume has increased from the initial 4,2 liters to seven liters, and the power has increased from 230 to 370 hp. However, in this model, all power data are very different. Be that as it may, Car and Driver magazine found a 1965 second 0-100 km/h time of 4,2 in 160 and exactly 8,8 seconds to XNUMX km/h. competitors,” adds owner Andreas Meyer.

Our focus is on the Viper, quite uniquely tailored to the aggressive Cobra model, a two-seat roadster that is the most complete eschew of luxury equipment. Added to this is probably the largest engine that could then be found in the United States - an eight-liter V10 with almost 400 hp. The Chrysler engineers clearly trusted the advice of Carol Shelby, who said something along the lines of "For an American sports car, displacement is never enough."

Originally a cast-iron agricultural engine for large pickups and SUVs, the 1,90m-wide plastic-covered assembly gets a fine sanding at Lamborghini, then a subsidiary of Chrysler. The simple American basic design - valve actuation via lift rods and two valves per combustion chamber - indeed remains unchanged, but now the block and cylinder heads are cast in light alloy, and the engine is usually equipped with multi-port fuel injection and modified oil circulation. . Apparently, nothing else was required to create and launch a series of fast sprint monsters.

In the first test, colleagues from our group magazine Sport Auto measured in 1993 a time of 5,3 seconds for acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h and 11,3 seconds to 160 km / h, as well as the best result. up to this value for initial and intermediate acceleration for a vehicle with a catalytic converter and a front engine. “More possible,” smiles owner Roland Albert of Fielderstadt, whose 1993 model was imported directly from the United States, as evidenced by the side mufflers that were forcibly replaced on the rear of the twin-pipe models sold in Germany. In numerical terms, a man determines the power of his Viper after some modifications to 500 hp.

Unfiltered driving

The first round belongs to Cobra. Andreas Meyer hands me the key, and at least outwardly he looks calm and carefree. “Everything is clear, isn't it?” Yes, that's clear, I hear myself, and I hope it sounds like I'm driving a car for a million euros every day. I get up, sit down on the hard seat and see two large and five smaller round Smith devices in front of me. As well as a spindle-thin steering wheel reminiscent of the Triumph TR4.

Okay, come on, warm up. The seven-liter V8 announces its presence with the sound of a cannon shot, my left foot firmly pressing the clutch to the floor. Click, first gear, start. Now let me not overdo it - but Meyer, sitting next to me, nods reassuringly, which I interpret as "maybe a little more gas." My right leg reacts immediately... wow! The Cobra raises the front of the springs, the rear vibrates as the wide rollers seek traction, and from the side mufflers the engine roars right into our ears. No, this roadster does not move on the road, it pounces on it, swallows it with a huge maw and throws its remains in the form of a caricature in the trembling rearview mirror. The main power with which this car accelerates seems limitless, as if it were in third or fourth gear.

Quick transfer to Viper. I sit deeper, more comfortable. The instrument panel is equipped, the gear lever is like a joystick - not to mention the fact that this is a moving car. “In fact, the car has no traction control, no ABS, no ESP,” recalls Roland Albert before the ten-cylinder catapulted us through the landscape of the Swabian Jurassic. Not as noisy and rough as the Cobra, but still in such a way that you constantly worry about fat 335 rear rollers. Unlike me, the chassis and brakes seem to be not at all impressed with the 500 horsepower. By the way, my own ears too. The V10 engine sounds deep and powerful, yet more subdued than the wild V8.

And yet - again an unfiltered machine. Dot. Will the Viper become a legitimate successor to the Cobra? Yes, this is my blessing.

Conclusion

Editor Michael Schroeder: The venom of the cobra will work immediately - it is enough to drive it away to want to get it. But the circulation of products and the price make this, unfortunately, unattainable, and a remark for me personally would not be an acceptable solution. However, Viper is the best surprise. So far, underestimated this powerful roadster - thoroughbred, unreasonable and fast, as it should be.

Text: Michael Schroeder

Photo: Hardy Muchler

technical details

AC / Shelby Cobra 427	Dodge / Chrysler Viper RT / 10
Working volume	6996 cc	7997 cc
Power	370 k.s. (272 kW) at 6000 rpm	394 k.s. (290 kW) at 4600 rpm
Maximum torque	650 Nm at 3500 rpm	620 Nm at 3600 rpm
Acceleration 0-100 km / h	4,3 with	5,3 with
Braking distances at a speed of 100 km / h	no data	no data
full speed	280 km / h	266 km / h
Average consumption fuel in the test	20-30 l / 100 km	19 l / 100 km
Base Price	€ 1 (in Germany, comp. 322)	$ 50 (700 US)