"Shelby wanted to race, and sold cars on the side so he could race more.
Rootes wanted to sell cars, and raced on the side so he could sell
more."
The title of "poor man's Cobra" applies to the Tiger because at the time
a Tiger cost a little more than half as much as a new Cobra and offered
nearly the same performance.
The stock 260 in the Cobra was actually modified by Shelby and rated at
260bhp, versus the 164bhp 260 in the Tiger.
But Shelby only made 75 of those 260 Cobras before upgrading to the 289,
which was actually the hipo 289, specially modified by Ford to produce
271bhp.
And by the time Rootes started making 200 bhp 289 Tigers, the Cobra had
been modified to accept the 427.
So it's no surprise that so many Tigers have been modified by their
"poor men" owners to achieve the car's performance potential. Cobra
owners paid dearly to have Shelby/Ford do the mods for them. It could
be argued that all Cobras and only some Tigers are modified...if you're
not particular about the who.
I don't think they would have been considered the poor man's Cobra, nor
would they have as strong a reputation for performance, if all Tigers
stayed at 164bhp. And (modified) Tiger performance has increased the
value of the marque as a whole -- both modified and unmodified examples.
"A high tide floats all boats."
- Graham H.
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