One gear can be enough (almost)
05/01/2026
A few weeks ago, I reflected on "how many gears a person needs". The bottom line was that four or five courses would actually be enough for most situations in life.
But then I had a new experience, which actually shows that you can get by with far fewer gears. On board an original Shelby Cobra 427 (driving report to follow), it turned out that the gear selection is largely negligible, at least for the purpose of pure propulsion.
Starting off in second gear? Absolutely no problem, it should work just as well in third gear. Available speeds in second gear (at 1000 to 6000 rpm): 21 to 126 km/h. This covers everything from inner-city 30 km/h zones to brisk country road driving. Third gear then offers 27 to 163 km/h.
And yes, the sprint from 0 to 100 km/h can also be driven in first gear if you go slightly above the rated speed. This also explains the legendary acceleration times of under five seconds for the standard sprint that were reported at the time.
At the same time, reaching for the gearshift in the Cobra is quite pleasurable, so there is no reason to do without it. And in contrast to the catchy electric car, you should of course take some care when using the clutch (to start off), after all, you still need the tires. And of course, the example of a 400 hp sports car weighing just over 1000 kg cannot simply be transferred to other cars - after all, the Cobra 427 (pictured with custom hardtop fitted) was and is something very special.
P.S. By the way, this is what the gear ratios and the speed reduction at the specified revs looked like on the Shelby Cobra 427 (with axle 3.54:1, according to the 1966 Automobil Revue catalog ):
| Gear | G. ratio | 1000 | 2000 | 3000 | 4000 | 5000 | 6000 | 7000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.32 | 16 | 33 | 49 | 65 | 81 | 98 | 114 |
| 2 | 1.69 | 21 | 42 | 63 | 84 | 105 | 126 | 147 |
| 3 | 1.29 | 27 | 54 | 81 | 109 | 136 | 163 | 190 |
| 4 | 1 | 35 | 70 | 105 | 140 | 175 | 210 | 245 |
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