Mike Anson, of Motor Trend magazine, wrote about his first sighting of a 427 Cobra. “I was driving along a Los Angeles freeway one night in the late 60’s when I saw a stock appearing 427 Cobra and a slalom equipped Corvette face off at approximately 80 MPH. Following in my drag race equipped super light Dodge with 125 mph capability, I followed their race. The Cobra looked like it was starting from a standing start – burning the big Goodyear Blue Streaks so that it was fishtailing sideways as it accelerated. Even with the 4.56:1 gears in the Dodge, I couldn’t keep up. The Cobra won, but the race looked as if it had been from a standing start and that I had been standing still.
INCREDIBLE! As they began pulling away from me, I chanced a look at my instrument panel and saw 126 mph at 7200 rpm – but the Cobra was by then disappearing into the distance.” (Quote from Shelby’s Wildlife, the Cobras, Mustangs and Dodges by Wallace Wyss.)