To Be OFFERED AT AUCTIONEstimate:
$225,000 - $275,000
- Aluminum body hand-formed in England; finished by Shelby in Las
Vegas
- 452-cu. in Shelby aluminum FE V-8; five-speed Tremec manual
transmission
- Glove box signed by Carroll Shelby
- Odometer displays fewer than 150 miles
- Among the finest of the Shelby Cobra continuation cars
Please note that this car is titled as a 2010 under California
State assigned vin CA972021.
In recent years, storied marques-Aston Martin, Bentley, and Jaguar
among them-have begun putting exhaustively researched, carefully
crafted re-creations of some of their most notable vintage
offerings back into limited production. Yet when it comes to the
continuation car phenomenon, it should come as no surprise that
performance pioneer (and astute businessman) Carroll Shelby was
once again far ahead of the pack: He began licensing versions of
his Anglo-American hot rod, the Shelby Cobra, decades ago.
That is not to say that all Cobras are created equal, and cars like
this 1965 Shelby 427 S/C Cobra 1000 series, chassis number CSX
1017, are a cut above the rest.
Conceived by Carroll Shelby around the dawn of the new millennium,
the CSX 1000 series was intended to offer the highest quality
continuation Cobra available-and rather than the bulk of Cobras on
the market, which were built and offered by licensed third party
manufacturers, each 1000 series car would be finished in-house at
Shelby's Las Vegas facility.
While the bulk of continuation Cobras are bodied in fiberglass, all
CSX 1000 cars received bodies painstakingly hand-formed in
aluminum. Just like the very first 1962 Shelby Cobra, which was
based on the British-built AC Ace, these high-quality bodies were
sourced from England-another important point of continuity with the
originals.
Fittingly, power comes from a high-performance 452-cubic inch
Shelby aluminum FE V-8, here paired with a five-speed Tremec manual
transmission. A period-appropriate "turkey pan" carburetor cold air
intake box sits atop the motor. Exhaust exists through silver
ceramic-coated side pipes, and 15-inch Shelby pin drive wheels
wrapped in Goodyear Billboard tires are tucked underneath the 427
S/C Cobra's appropriately flared fender arches.
Creature comforts are obviously secondary on a car like the Cobra,
but the interior includes leather seats, a carpeted transmission
tunnel and map pockets. The highlight here is the glovebox door:
Signed by Carroll Shelby, who passed away in 2012, it is a
wonderful finishing touch for an already appealing car. Further
enhancing its draw, CSX 1017's odometer displays fewer than 150
miles.
Completed in 2010, CSX 1017 is an excellent low-mileage example of
what is arguably the pinnacle of continuation Cobra production.
This 1965 Shelby 427 S/C Cobra '1000 Series' is offered with a car
cover and a statement of origin certificate from Shelby
Automobiles, Inc. To view this car and others currently consigned
to this auction, please visit the RM website at
rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/0520.