Shelby 427 CobraWe start with undoubtedly one of the most iconic muscle cars to bear the name of an animal: Carroll Shelby's Mark III 427 Cobra. The 427 was the pinnacle of the Cobras, which Shelby first started building in 1963. They were rowdy cars from the get-go, the combination of Ford V8 power and a lightweight body making for excellent quarter-mile times and a lot of tire smoke, even with the relatively tame 260- and 289-CI engines that powered the Mark I and Mark II Cobras.The Cobra proved successful enough that AC Cars — the British company building the bodies — stopped making the original car and focused solely on building Cobra bodies. But Shelby wasn't content with the Mark II's success and began experimenting with even larger engines, eventually landing on Ford's 427-CI V8, which made over 400 horsepower and nearly 500 lb-ft of torque. The 427 allowed the Cobra to hit 60 mph in under five seconds and to do the 0 – 100 – 0 mph run in under 14, both of which are impressive numbers for 1965. It also made the Cobra somewhat tough to handle, with even modern recreations proving a handful to drive quickly. Spare a thought, then, for the crazy souls who ordered the Competition 427 Cobra, which must have been terrifying to drive thanks to its 600 horsepower. Shelby built 23 of these Competition Cobras, 31 S/C cars, and around 100 standard Cobras with the 427 before swapping to a tamer 428-CI Police Interceptor V8 — although the 427 returned for the final 50 units or so.