The Ford Kelly Python Was Supposed To Be A Reborn Cobra, So Why Were Only 12 Ever Built?

Of all the great sports cars of the 1960s, few have been as evocative and inspired as many replicas and tributes as the Shelby Cobra. The formula of a big engine in a small sports car is as simple as a charcoal barbecue, but it yields massively fun results. As you’d expect, many automakers have since tried to emulate the Cobra, some with success like Dodge with the Viper, and some without much, or any, of a production run. The Ford Kelly Python falls in that latter category, and while it might look a bit like an American TVR, it’s as rare as rocking horse droppings.

See, only a dozen were made before an extremely short production run ended for good, and fewer than that remain today. Don’t just think of the Python as an upstart dream, however. For what was largely an outside effort, the Python was about as official as it got. In fact, it drew substantial inspiration from a Cobra replacement that very nearly happened.

Back in 1965, Ford designers Eugene Bordinat and McKinley Thompson were busy working on the design for a Cobra successor, one that would use an all-new, all-American body made out of something called Royalex. It was an ABS and vinyl composite dreamt up by Uniroyal, and one that would align Ford’s next sports car closely in construction with the Chevrolet Corvette. Unfortunately, the Bordinat Cobra never ended up entering production, but Motor Trend reported that a man named Alvin Kelly managed to get his hands on a prototype body, and got approval to use it as a starting block.

From there, a few things like the wedgy hoodline and kicked-up quarter panel treatments were kept, but the rest of the vehicle had to be modernized for the NHTSA age, not to mention re-sized to fit over cut-down Mustang bones. As a result, metal bumpers were ditched for plastic fasciae, wheel arches were flared, the wheelbase was stretched, Thunderbird taillights and Probe headlights were fitted, and everything was played with until the resemblance is only there if you squinted.

It’s funny; given the low-res, parts-bin exterior appearance of the Python, you’d expect the interior to be closer to that of a boat than any production car. Well, it actually got a full Mustang dashboard, meaning from the driver’s seat, everything genuinely looks like it could’ve rolled out of a Ford factory.

Since the Python used Fox Mustang underpinnings, that means it got a five-liter Windsor V8 making 225 horsepower and 300 lb.-ft. of torque, hitched to a five-speed manual transmission. Thanks to 55:45 weight distribution and relatively light construction, one can only imagine that it absolutely flew for the era, and that it could be a handful in the wrong hands.

Kelly planned on selling the Python as a turn-key car through existing Ford dealerships, and while a handful were actually built and sold, only a dozen made it out of Kelly’s production facility in Colorado before the plug was pulled on the entire project. While an official reason as to why Python production ended so suddenly proves elusive, the turn of the 1990s wasn’t the best economic climate to launch a sports car in, and that time roughly coincided with the final years of third-generation Mustang production.

As a result, it’s exceptionally rare to see a Python up for sale, but it happens every so often, and one hammered on Cars & Bids just this week. While the high bid of $15,000 failed to meet reserve, Cars & Bids discloses that a deal was reached after the auction closed, which means that one lucky person is going to be cruising around in a seriously obscure tangent of Ford history.

The car itself looks to be in fairly alright shape for a plastic-bodied car of its age. Sure, the fiberglass isn’t perfect, the soft top is a bit worn, and the driver’s seat has seen plenty of entrances and exits for a vehicle with just 47,700 miles on the clock, this really is a case of such low availability that such flaws don’t really matter. They don’t affect the drivability of the car, and the package still looks like a hoot and a half.

So, bravo to the one brave individual who’s just won the opportunity to confuse just about everyone who sees this two-seater out in the wild or at shows. Of course, having read this article, you’ll know exactly what it is if you ever come across it, and you’ll be able to gleefully announce its rarity to everyone who’ll listen. Learning really can be fun sometimes, right?

(Photo credits: Cars & Bids)

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