The Shelby Cobra returned in 2004 with a v10 swap that shocked everyone and nearly hit production

The Shelby Cobra was meant to be done and dusted by the late 1960s, its reputation locked in alongside racing stripes and big V8 bravado.

But in the early 2000s, Ford decided the story wasn’t actually finished.

What came next wasn’t a retro reboot or a safe nostalgia play.

It was a full-blown comeback attempt that shocked people for one very specific reason.

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The Shelby Cobra that almost came back from the dead

In January 2004, Ford pulled the cover off a modern Shelby Cobra concept at the Detroit Auto Show – the first official Cobra in nearly 40 years. 

And this wasn’t some empty showpiece. 

It ran, drove, and had Carroll Shelby himself on board with the idea.

Then everyone found out it didn’t have a V8.

Instead, Ford dropped in a 6.4-liter naturally aspirated V10. 

Cue outrage. 

Cobra fans saw it as sacrilege. 

But Ford had its reasons. 

The engine made 605 horsepower and 501lb-ft of torque, and crucially, it actually weighed less than the supercharged V8 used in the Ford GT at the time.

That helped balance the car properly, with near-perfect weight distribution and a claimed 0-60mph time under four seconds. 

It also meant the Cobra could stare down another American icon of the era – the Dodge Viper – and still come out swinging on power.

Under the skin, this thing shared DNA with the Ford GT. 

Suspension ideas, major components, and even the rear transaxle were borrowed to save time and money. 

The entire project was built in just eight months, and the car had already clocked real miles before it ever hit the stage in Detroit.

For a moment, production looked genuinely possible, with talk of a roughly $99,000 price tag.

Then reality hit.

Why the V10 Cobra never made it past the concept stage

The global economy took a hit, Ford was already deep into building thousands of expensive GTs, and launching a 600 horsepower two-seat Cobra suddenly felt like bad timing. 

Shelby American briefly explored building a tiny run themselves, but the $83 million required shut that down fast.

So the Cobra was sidelined. 

Later, it was rendered non-drivable for liability reasons, popped up in a questionable action movie, and eventually landed in the hands of its original creator, Chris Theodore, who brought it back to running condition.

Some people argue the Cobra story ended decades earlier. 

Others say this V10 experiment counts as the last chapter.

Either way, it came dangerously close to rewriting Cobra history – just not the way anyone expected.

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