Quote:
Originally Posted by GS Ragtop
Autokraft bought the rights to the name and the original AC Cobra dies for making the aluminum body, allowing them to make a version of the Cobra that stayed true to original -- it *was* the original. Eventually Autokraft produced 480 Cobras, at which time the 'real' AC Cobra finally was laid to rest.
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Autokraft's cars were not legally called "Cobra", as the US District Court in Los Angeles sided with Carroll Shelby's claim to the name, deciding that Shelby was the manufacturer of record for the Cobra and therefore he owned the rights to the name, not AC Cars.
Autokraft therefore had to refer to their cars as the "AC Mark IV".
The cars were also not "true to the original", as the Autokraft Mark IV's had different engines, transmissions and independent rear suspension.