When AC Cars Ltd of Thames Ditton shipped the final 4.7-litre Cobra to Shelby American in November 1964, production switched to a ‘MkII’ version that featured a stronger chassis and enlarged, wider bodywork capable of accommodating Ford’s huge 427 cubic-inch 7-litre engine. Designed to compete in the FIA World Sportscars Championship GT category in 1965, 100 examples had to be built but only half that number had been constructed by the FIA inspection date.
With no hope of being competitive in the prototype class, Shelby American completed the remaining 427s as road cars for sale in its home market. Of the 302 Cobras that were shipped to Los Angeles, three did not make the trip across the Atlantic. In February 1966, at the request of Ford, two body/chassis units were sent to Ford Advanced Vehicles in Slough where, alongside production of the GT40, they were completed and, in the case of chassis CSX3217, delivered to Scuderia Filipinetti in Switzerland. A few days after arrival the white 427 was displayed at the Geneva Motor Show before being modified for competition use and sold to a Swiss gentleman driver, Arnaldo Maestrini. The photograph shows Maestrini competing in the 1967 Ollan-Villars hillclimb which at the time was a round of the FIA World Sportscar Championship. Of the leading factory teams involved that year, only Porsche sent entries (a pair of 910 Bergspyders for Gerhard Mitter and Rolf Stommelen) while Ferrari made a token entry for Herbert Muller in a 412P Berlinetta. The event was hugely popular and crowds gathered along the 8.3 kilometre route that wound around the Rhone valley as it rose over 600 metres. Over 200 cars were entered with a similar number of motorcycles. Due to the nature of the narrow alpine roads, Arnaldo Maestrini was unable (or unwilling) to make use of the formidable power and straight line speed of the 7-litre Cobra. At the end of a cautious run he finished second in class, albeit 57 seconds behind the class winning Ferrari 275GTB/4, and in 50th place overall, beaten by numerous less powerful cars such as a Lancia Fulvia, a selection of Mini-Coopers and assorted Abarths. Due to safety concerns, this would be the last year to include a hillclimb as part of the world championship. It was an understandable decision as two competitors died during the 1967 event when their cars left the road, one of whom was a promising young driver whose 4.7-litre AC Cobra plunged down an almost vertical hillside and crashed through the roof of a wooden hut. The Ollan Villars hillclimb was first held in 1953 and continued until 1971; today, historic cars take part in demonstration runs that are held every three years.
