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Cobra vs. Cobra Nailbiting Finishing Laps Will Have You on the Edge of Your Seat

Modern motorsport is becoming pretty dull, so if you're looking for some real excitement, you're going to have to go back in time a little. You can watch some early '90s Formula One races when Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell or Alain Prost were actually fighting for the first place on the track. Or you can have a look at this footage from the Graham Hill Trophy at the 73rd Members' Meeting.
Two Cobras duel on track 1 photo
Photo: Screenshot from YouTube
The two cars featured are a Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe and a Shelby Cobra, both based on the AC Cobra British sports car, but with more "American" engines. If history has taught us anything, it is that what we have here is a real recipe for success: the Brits provide the light chassis, while the Americans come with the muscle.

The description can be a little confusing, since both cars look like coupes from where we're standing. The red one, however, which is the Shelby Cobra, was usually built as an open-top roadster, but here it gets a roof for aerodynamic purposes while also boosting the pilot's safety.

The other car, the green (it's hard to tell since they're driving at twilight) Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe was a vehicle designed to defeat the Ferrari 250 GTO in the GT class. There were just six of them made, and unfortunately, the one you see here isn't one of them. Given their scarcity, the Daytona Coupes are now selling for seven figure numbers, but most of the time they're not selling at all.

The car that's fighting to keep the white Shelby Cobra behind is a very exact replica, built with original parts and according to the initial specifications. So it's as good as it gets without having to spend millions of dollars on one. You can read more about this wonderful car in this Classic Driver article.

The green coupe is driven by Joe Twyman, while the chasing Shelby Cobra has Shaun Lynn at the wheel. After Joe came just in front of him from a pit stop, Shaun engages in a very determined pursuit that we're not going to spoil for you, but it does involve overtaking.

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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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