This photo is of the front of CSX 2000 whilst having the engine and gearbox fitted in the US - photo courtesy 'The Shelby American Original Archives'.
The caption in the book says:
a. '.... the first production Cobra'. The factory ledger records the first production car, CSX 2001, was painted in UK whilst CSX 2000 was delivered unpainted. Therefore, the car in the photo is most probably the prototype, which was despatched from Thames Ditton on 20th Feb 1962.
b. 'The AC Badge ... was soon removed'! A second photo, with the Shelby insignia painted on the bare shell, shows the mounting holes for the original AC badge still unfilled. A third photo shows the boot lid with a hole in it where the badge would be fitted.
Safe to say I think the photo above shows how CSX 2000 left England.
I have looked closely at the original of the photo of the car at Thames Ditton and there is only one badge on the nose. It is not clear whether this is 'AC' or 'Cobra'
There is no indication on the photo which car this is, but it must have been between CSX 2001 (July 1962) and 2017 (Sept 1962) as the photo was published with the UK announcement in October 1962. By that time the Cobra model name had been decided.
I have no recollection or record of cars bearing the elongated badge, or more than one badge, on the nose of cars in the UK. Later photos of COB and COX leaf-spring cars for Europe and ROW invariably show the cars with a single round Cobra badge on the nose - even when new outside the Thames Ditton factory.
In conclusion, from this evidence for the early CSX Cobras:
a.Just a few cars, and possibly only one, were despatched from UK with AC badges on the nose.
b. As the Cobra model name had not been decided when CSX 2000 was shipped, it is logical that an AC badge would be fitted by the factory.
c. When despatched from UK, the cars had one badge on the nose and one on the boot.
d. Cars between CSX 2001 and CSX 2054 sold in US had elongated 'AC Shelby Cobra' badges fitted before they were sold.
e.There is no evidence that the elongated badges were fitted in the UK.
The minefield has not been cleared!
John