The Python is a relatively unknown prototype sports car by

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

. It originally started in the mid-1960s when Ford's Vice President of Design,

Eugene Bordinat Eugene Bordinat Jr. (February 10, 1920 – August 11, 1987) was a Ford Motor Company styling executive whose career spanned several decades. Early career Bordinat was educated at the Cranbrook Academy of Art and the University of Michigan. He ...

, was designing a new body for

Carroll Shelby Carroll Hall Shelby (January 11, 1923 – May 10, 2012) was an American automotive designer, racing driver, and entrepreneur. Shelby is best known for his involvement with the AC Cobra and Mustang for Ford Motor Company, which he modified duri ...

to use as a replacement for the

AC Cobra The AC Cobra, sold in the United States as the Shelby Cobra and AC Shelby Cobra, is a sports car manufactured by British company AC Cars, with a Ford V8 engine. It was produced intermittently in both the United Kingdom and later the United ...

. With the help of McKinley Thompson (the first major African-American car designer at Ford), they designed two successors, one convertible and one coupe. The prototype, now called the Bordinat Cobra, was designed using a new plastic called

Royalex Royalex was a composite material, comprising an outer layer of vinyl and hard acrylonitrile butadiene styrene plastic (ABS) and an inner layer of ABS foam. The layers are bonded by heat treatment. It was used to manufacture durable, mid-priced ca ...

, produced by

United States Rubber Company The company formerly known as the United States Rubber Company, now Uniroyal, is an American manufacturer of tires and other synthetic rubber-related products, as well as variety of items for military use, such as ammunition, explosives, chemi ...

(now known as Uniroyal). However, when Shelby and Ford parted ways, the project was scrapped along with the use of the new plastic. Later in 1981, Alvin Kelly, who felt the need for a "pure, open air sports car", found one of the original Royalex Bordinat Cobra bodies and, with the approval of Gene Bordinat and help of McKinley Thompson (consultant for Alvin Kelly), built four prototypes for this Python design. Alvin Kelly took the mold to Southern California, where the fourth prototype was perfected and put into production. The Python was built using a reinforced Mustang frame that has a shortened wheel base in order to achieve 55:45 front:rear weight ratio. Because Alvin Kelly was going to market these cars through Ford dealers, the cars came equipped with standard Mustang equipment with the option of having any upgrades Ford offered for their Mustangs at that time. Consumers were also given the option of upgrading to a wooden dash and console. Alvin Kelly moved his company to Fort Collins, Colorado shortly before production began. Although it is unknown how many cars were built in Southern California and how many were built in Fort Collins, Colorado, it is known that there were about 12 cars built before the company went under.MacArthur, Dan. "Car Builder Hopes to Bite Into Market". ''Fort Collins Triangle Review'' Retrieved 10 November 2013. Kelly's Python was intended to reflect the old time style of the Bordinat Cobra while still incorporating a modern feel. There have been seven of these cars identified.

References

{{Reflist 1980s cars Rear-wheel-drive vehicles Sports cars Ford vehicles