Exoto 1:18 1963 Shelby AC Cobra #50- Miles- AC Cobra Competition- Mosport Canadian GP GT Cls

I just received my new Exoto 1963 Shelby Cobra as driven by Ken Miles at Mosport’s Canadian GP and boy is this a beauty! This car arrived as a complete surprise. We had all seen it displayed at the car shows for several years, but Exoto never gave us much of a hint as to when it was coming or indeed how extensive their stable of these cars might be. It now appears that despite the rather quiet run-up, they plan on building an extensive line of these cars. Before we look into our crystal ball, however, let’s look at a bit of history and the model itself.

Shelby American started racing in earnest in 1963 with the upgrade of the engine to the Ford 289 cid V-8 and full Weber carburetion. They also rather quickly scrapped the wire wheels they used on the earlier 260 cid race cars as they were not up to the task and replaced them with Halibrand mag wheels fitted with wider tires. This wheel / tire upgrade required modifications to the street car bodywork and gave the race cars a distinctively different look than their highway cruising siblings. There were numerous other detail changes from the large air intake scoop on the hood to the “quick jack” bumpers that separated the 1963 cars from earlier versions and gave the cars a “no frills – all business” look.

Their first edition of this series is interestingly not a Shelby American entry, but a “privateer” driven by Ken Miles at Mosport. Exoto has done a fabulous job at making the changes required to bring this car to life, building off of their excellent 1962 “First Race” and “First Victory” models. The fender flares, skirts behind the front wheels and roll bar are all very well done. The interior is excellent and adds a touch missing from the earlier cars – mismatched seats. Most racing Cobras – and all Cobras that Ken Miles drove - ran with the stock seat on the passenger side and a proper racing “bucket” for the driver. The dash and pedals are also nicely done. Sadly Exoto continues its practice of giving safety belts with shoulder harnesses which look cool on the model but were never actually installed in the 1963 cars and as best I can tell never used by Ken Miles in any roadster he ever raced. The fit and finish on the model are excellent and up to Exoto’s best standards, which is to say they’re as good as you will find anywhere inside and out. The under-carriage work has also been nicely executed with only the small Phillips head screws that hold the car together and the Exoto badges spoiling the illusion of reality. If anything, the finish is too good on this car because, in reality, this car was Ken Miles “works” roadster that was painted red and was hastily repainted white and given “Comstock Racing” livery just for the Canadian Grand Prix race. The real standout details on this car are the nicely executed Halibrand “kidney bean” mag wheels and the excellent detail of the 289 Ford engine. “Fully Plumbed and Wired” is a term that gets tossed about a lot, but this is a car that can back up the statement. I wish Exoto had built the engines on my beloved Daytona Cobra Coupes to this level.

I do have four minor criticisms of the car: First I wish Exoto would step-up and install real metal wipers on their cars. As plastic wipers go, these are well-done but, for this price, ones like CMC puts on its Ferrari SWB should be standard. Second I think the windshield frame is a bit too beefy, at least compared to the pictures that I have seen of this and other 1963 Cobra race roadsters. Third this car uses dogleg door hinges which is really a glaring error for a car of this quality. And finally, and I know this is really being picky; the “POWERED BY” and Ford oval graphics are a bit misplaced on the front fenders. Additionally, although I can’t prove it with a picture of the interior of this car (CSX-2129), Ken Miles had his Cobras custom fitted with Jaeger tachometers that were larger in size than the standard Smiths units and required a modified dashboard. This car has the same dash layout as the 1962 cars. Still, I have to rate this car – or one of its “coming soon” siblings as a “must have” for any serious Cobra collector.

Now about those siblings: A little quick analysis of the racing records of 1963 will lead any collector to the conclusion that Exoto’s plans go far beyond the list already posted on their page. None of the “best placed” FIA cars of that year are listed, including cars driven not only by Ken Miles but by Phil Hill, Dan Gurney and Dave McDonald. There are also as many as ten SCCA / USRRC class winners to choose from in a number of different colors and liveries. Exoto also has plans to do both 1964 and 1965 “Competition Cobras”, but when we will see them remains a mystery.

The only real fly in the ointment is the cost. I’d love to have a fleet of these roadsters to go with my 14 Daytona Coupes but at $240.00 plus shipping I’m likely to get only a handful and fill out the rest of my collection with my custom conversions and less detailed MKI Cobras that hopefully will be produced by someone like Shelby Collectibles. Still if you are to have one “Competition Cobra” in your collection this has got to be the car!

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