To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Amelia Island event, 8 - 9
March 2019.
Estimate:
$1,750,000 - $2,100,000
- Less than 1,900 original miles
- The second-to-last 427 Cobra produced
- Formerly owned by noted collectors John Mozart and Lawrence
Bowman
- Known history since new, documented by the SAAC Registry
- Incredibly authentic with unquestioned purity, including
original "sunburst" wheels and blue dot tires
Please note that this lot is titled as a 1967.
Uncompromising and fiercely aggressive on the racetrack, Shelby's
289 Cobra was an instant icon. Racing success built on racing
success - yet Shelby knew that to stay competitive, it was
essential to continually increase power. Enter Ford's mighty 427
engine: a big block monster of almost otherworldly horsepower that
moved the needle to a point never thought possible.
Shelby was initially promised a new aluminum-block version of
Ford's 390 FE engine, but once the NASCAR faction within Ford got
wind of the project, plans turned to the heavier cast-iron 427.
Debuting at Sebring in 1964 and driven by Ken Miles, early handling
challenges clearly needed addressing, but the power delivery and
tremendous performance potential was unmistakable. As such, the 427
Cobra was born, but not after a substantial amount of engineering
work, which included a new chassis with 4-in. tube frame and 7-in.
wider body with larger fender flares - necessitated by the
increased power and weight of the engine. A highly sophisticated
coil-over suspension was crafted by Ford engineers using the same
computer as on the GT40, all sitting on the same 90-in. wheelbase.
Termed the 427 Cobra in a staff meeting on 7 April 1965, Shelby's
big-block cars were never mass-produced, with just over 300
built.
It goes without saying that the new Cobra's performance was
mind-bending. In a road test with Sports Car Graphic a few years
prior to the 427 Cobra's release, Aston Martin had claimed that its
DB4 was capable of accelerating from 0-100 mph and back down to
zero in less than 30 seconds. Ken Miles had the idea to restage the
test using the new 427 Cobra. It would handily beat the DB4 in 13.2
seconds! In all forms, the 427 Cobra was a mighty racing car and
virtually unbeatable on the road and track.
CHASSIS NUMBER CSX 3359
The Shelby American Automobile Club World Registry documents
chassis no. CSX 3359 as having been the next-to-last 427 Cobra
produced. It was billed to Shelby American on 14 December 1966,
equipped with a 427 V-8 with single 4V carburetor and finished in
red with black interior. In other words, it was ordered as, and has
always remained, a road car, one that has been enjoyed and
preserved on the street - though sparingly. CSX 3359 was then sold
to Pletcher Ford, of Jenkintown, Pennsylvania, at $1,000 off dealer
cost, and was trucked to Jenkintown on 16 October 1967. On the
journey to Pletcher Ford, minor storage and shipping damage
occurred, necessitating repair of the left-hand rocker panel, the
Cobra emblem on the trunk lid, and replacement of the spare wheel
and tire at a cost of $211.95 - as noted on repair order no.
2020.
The Cobra's first owner was Frank W. Hultslander, of Norristown,
Pennsylvania, who rarely drove it before consigning it to Hexagon
Motors, of London, in November 1971; Hexagon Motors purchased the
Cobra themselves, and imported the car overseas. It remained in
storage from 1972 until 1976, when its existence in England was
widely reported, and the car found a new owner in Richard Buxbaum,
of Hinsdale, Illinois. Remarkably, when Mr. Buxbaum advertised his
Cobra for sale in 1978 at $85,000, it had recorded only 512
original miles!
The car was sold to Jerome A. Shinkay, of Janesville, Wisconsin,
who in the early 1980s advertised it for sale. CSX 3359 passed to
James S. Ward, of Atherton, California, who resold it to the
Ferrari dealer in Los Gatos. From there, it passed through the
hands of Timothy Lewy into the ownership of renowned collector John
Mozart, whose stable includes some of the finest performance
automobiles ever built. In 1998, the Cobra was acquired by another
well-known enthusiast of Ford performance products, Lawrence
Bowman, in whose ownership it was pictured on page 111 of John
McClellan's The Classic ACs.
In 2004, Mr. Bowman elected to have the car restored by the
well-known Cobra expert, Mike McCluskey. The entire drivetrain,
including engine, transmission, differential, drive and
half-shafts, and suspension, was rebuilt to original
specifications, with everything pertaining to reliability and
drivability being repaired and replaced only as necessary. The body
was left on the chassis, due to its stunning originality, but was
stripped to the bare frame and body shell, before being
metal-finished, primered, and repainted the original Monza Red.
Much of the interior remains original, including the wonderfully
well-preserved seats, vinyl, wheel arches, and doors.
Thereafter, the Cobra was acquired by a notable private collector
in the Northwest and then by the current consignor in 2014. Always
a well-kept road car, it still wears its original "sunburst" wheels
shod in the original Goodyear blue dot tires and is accompanied by
a second set of Trigo wheels. Having driven just a handful of miles
since its last public outing, this incredible Cobra is
unquestionably one of the most authentic and original 427s
extant.
As beautiful as it was when new, CSX 3359 presents an exceedingly
rare opportunity to acquire one of the world's most iconic cars,
the 427 Cobra.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction,
please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/am19.