The AC Cobra is a classic sports car that has its origins in both the UK and the US, with an original production run which lasted from 1961 until 1967. However, its legacy has endured for significantly longer than its short lifespan and it remains an influential model to this day.

The AC Cobra was developed by both AC Cars and Ford, with tons of input from Carroll Shelby who had been tasked with building a performance car that could rival the Chevrolet Corvette.

The prototype that would eventually found the Cobra was built in the UK with a stand-in Ford V8 engine, before having this stripped out and then being sent across to LA in order to allow Shelby and his team to get to work.

Once the designs were finalised and testing completed, the Cobra was put into production relatively quickly. By 1963 there was even a Mark II Cobra hitting the streets, with a number of elements borrowed from other less prestigious cars of the time. For example, the steering column in the Mark II was ripped right out of a VW Beetle.

1965 saw the Cobra Mark III arrive, this time with a new Ford engine that could provide 425bhp and a top speed of 164mph, even in the basic edition of the car. Meanwhile the Cobra that was intended for competitive racing was even more powerful, hitting 184mph flat out.

Perhaps the most famous legend surrounding the AC Cobra is that one was used by race driver Jack Sears in 1964, hitting 186mph on the M1. Many cite this as being the reason that the 70mph speed limit, which did not exist at the time, was instigated by the government, although the reality is that this was just one of a number of factors that influenced the decision.

Despite the now iconic nature of the AC Cobra, it was not actually much of a success from a financial point of view, which is why it did not make it to the conclusion of its first decade before being retired.

While the Cobra may have slithered away by the end of the 1960s, it would eventually return as part of a number of officially sanctioned 'continuations' of the original brand. This basically means that AC Cars licensed the design to other manufacturers, allowing for hundreds of different iterations to emerge.

You can still see brand new cars in the style of the Cobra on the streets today, although those from the original run are the most highly prized.