Despite its outward similarity to the Colt Python, the Colt King Cobra design is based upon that of an earlier Colt, the Colt Trooper MK V, improved with the addition of a heavier-duty barrel, full barrel length cylinder ejection rod protection shroud, target grips, better finishes and thicker solid (non-vented) rib on top of the barrel. The King Cobra was introduced in 1986, discontinued in 1992, and returned to Colt's product line in 1994. Dropped a second time in 1998, it was reintroduced in 2019; albeit almost completely redesigned.
