Just last week, as I was making my down the beautiful South Carolina coast from what was then a sunny Myrtle Beach to a quaint waterfront town called Beaufort, pulling a wobbling transport trailer that I rented from U-Haul to pick up my beloved 1985 Jeep Renegade. Forced to leave "her" behind during a recent move, I was happy with thoughts of being reunited.
After all, it was the perfect time of year for rides in the Jeep. With no top, the fast-changing weather, quickly gearing down from a non-existent winter these past few months to what I hope is a warm, dry spring, was what we Southerners often take for granted, with mild winds off the ocean and and a bright, sunny sky.
I was absorbed in all of this when all of the sudden, just off of Highway 17 South onto Highway 21 which runs you all the way down through Beaufort and out to Fripp Island, South Carolina , the number "88" car just comes by me as if I was pulling a wide-load mobile home!
This amazing speedster was a sharp solid black Shelby Cobra. How cool, especially given that I had just recently read up on Carroll Shelby, the racecar driver and creator of the smokin' Shelby Cobra.
I quickly felt the need for speed myself and caught up to this "cool cat," who appeared to be as far from a feline as one can be, looking more like a respected Marine out joy riding and headed back to the famous Parris Island Marine Base.
A second glance told me that he had on a bomber jacket, a yellow hat with a marine patch on the front, and some Ray Ban sunglasses. Talk a out déjà vu! Could it be Tom Cruise shooting Top Gun II?
Only now, instead of his Japanese wings, Tom has control of a stunning Shelby Cobra!
As we proceeded down 21, I tried with all my might to stay beside this Tom lookalike and really study the magnificent lines of his car. But, having a trailer behind me made this task difficult and I found myself to be rolling away from the speeding the Cobra, but not before I took in the license plate, which read: "Nothing Could Be Finer In Carolina" across the top of the plate and 427COBRA across the middle.
Then I saw it. There it was on the frame of the plate. A Carroll Shelby Ford dealer tag!
Now, you should know the car also sported the number 88 circled in white on the trunk, as well as on the hood of the car.
This Cobra was the first one I've ever seen close-up. What an adrenaline rush!
I noticed the Cobra didn't have any racing stripes painted down the front or back of the car, but both sides of the Shelby did have 88 circled again, with a few sponsors also showcased here, such ESSO, Castrol Oil, and one that looked as if it had been removed? I tried making it out, but no such luck.
The car's rims and tires were tight, and I could see a gorgeous wood-grain steering wheel. Taking al this in, I must say that I was surprised to see so many parts of the head-turning car were blemished and in definite need of another solid black paint job.
The roll bar was black as well, which I would have liked to have seen in a shiny chrome, knowing it would pop against the two white racing stripes and a newer jet black metallic paint job.
I tried to stay close as we were getting into downtown and battling the lunch hustle and bustle. I'm behind him still and about to have to make my exit onto a different street and he gives me a taste of what I was really hoping for. The car in front of him had pissed the Marine and apparently cut him off by slamming on the breaks and turning without a blinker.
He may of thought I had a chance of crashing into the back of him.
Never the less, he's got a clear strait away in front now. So, he drops the hammer! And I finally get to see what a 427 can do from pretty much a dead stop... It was very cool!
The rear end just sat down as the wide tires gripped the pavement and took off, comparable only to watching a Lear Jet taking off down the runway.
He didn't quite have a quarter mile, maybe just under, before he had to put on the brakes, and in those few seconds, the Cobra easily got up to 85-90 mph!
Talking about making my day, and my otherwise uneventful trip!
