A beautifully maintained convertible came up against a bear in Girdwood Wednesday morning with the car coming up a distinct second best.

North Carolina resident Tom Cotter has been in Alaska touring the state with three friends in their Shelby Cobras. The group decided to stay at Alyeska Ski Resort overnight before Cotter was called from a member of his group in the morning, he needed to see something.

He found a gaping hole in the roof and mud and scratches all over the body of the car.

"The top was 53-years-old, it managed to survive all these years but it couldn't manage to survive 11 days in Alaska," laughed Cotter.

So why did the bear attack his car? A friend sheepishly admitted to forgetting his Fig Newtons behind the seat.

He says the car's value is "approaching seven figures" but he is philosophical, saying it could have been a lot worse if he had been in the car's thin aluminium body. "My car has a unique story that no other Cobra has in the world."