Vehicle Description
1966 Shelby 427 S/C Cobra For Sale - Undoubtedly One Of The Purest,
Most Original Of Any S/C Cobra LMC is very proud to offer for sale
this 1966 Shelby 427 S/C Cobra When the legendary driver Ken Miles
first introduced the 427ci engine to a Shelby Cobra in the "Flip
Top" prototype 427 Cobra it took the Cobras performance to a whole
new level. The Shelby Cobra now had the powerplant necessary to
outrun the competition including Grand Sport Corvettes, 250 GTOs,
and GT40s, and that's exactly what it did on its debut race at the
Nassau Bahamas race in 1964. With this discovery of the incredible
performance potential of the 427ci, Shelby's original plan was to
build 100 427 competition Roadsters which would be homologated for
FIA racing. Shelby was planning on running a factory effort with
these cars in the 1965 season. Unfortunately when the FIA arrived
at Shelby American in April 1965 only 51 cars were built and Shelby
was forced to run the 289s again in the 1965 season. AC Cars built
just over 50 Competition Cobras with the newly redesigned bodies
and chassis. The cars' bodies became wider and featured larger
front and rear flares and nose opening, in fact only the doors,
hood and trunk lid were taken directly from the 289 Cobras design.
The Chassis was also redesigned with 4 inch main rails for more
rigidity to handle the 427 power plant. The 427 chassis was also
given independent suspension with coil overs which gave the car
better handling performance. By the time the 1965 race season came
to a close Shelby had only sold 16 competition cars that were
actively being raced. Due to not getting the 427 homologated for
the FIA and the GT40 program in full swing, the 427 Competition
cars became difficult to sell. It was at this point that Charles
Biedler, Shelby's East Coast Sales Representative, stepped in with
a bright idea; why not offer a mildly de-tuned version to produce
perhaps the most potent road car ever. Thus the 427 S/C or
Semi/Competition or Street/Competition Cobras were born. The S/C
cars were nearly identical to a standard 427 Competition model with
a 427 side oiler of which was highly underrated at 425 horsepower.
Some features that carried over from the Comp car include side
exhausts, oil cooler, roll bar, hood scoop, external filler cap,
42-gallon fuel tank and even quick-lift jacking points were all
carried over from its Competition counterpart. The only real
difference being the S/C cars had mufflers in the side pipes and
most came with holley 2x4 carburetors. It was only the 427 S/C cars
that were originally delivered with the ultra desirable 2x4 carbs
and a side oiler, no street cars had this combination. Performance
of the new S/C Cobra was earth shattering for its time, with 60 mph
achieved in barely four seconds while still spinning the tires. As
if further confirmation of the 427's staggering capability were
needed, Ken Miles reportedly achieved a zero-to-100 mph-to-zero
time of just 13.2 seconds! At the time the S/C car was the fastest
production car in the world. The S/C Cobra today is revered by most
collectors as one of the most desirable specifications and the
poster car for Shelby American. Today the S/C car is the most
copied car in the world and for good reason. This incredible
original S/C Cobra offered here for sale was supplied to
Hi-Performance Motors of El Segundo, California on 24 August 1966
painted in the stunning color of Sapphire Blue. It was subsequently
sold to Dr. Robert Degnan of Hacienda Heights, California. By 1973
it was in the care of a second known owner, Steven Harlock. Later
that same year, Harlock expressed a desire to sell, and it was
recorded in a SAAC Cobra Registry entry that the Cobra had covered
a mere 8,900 miles. By 1979, it had relocated to England, entering
the ownership of Michael Haywood of Birmingham. Evidently Mr.
Haywood continued the car's theme of sympathetic and modest use,
for he added only an additional 3,100 miles during his tenure
before selling it to highly respected Australian businessman and
car collector Peter Briggs. Briggs purchased this S/C 427 Cobra
with only 12,000 miles. Mr. Briggs had established the York Motor
Museum near Perth, Western Australia in 1979; his rich and varied
collection included the likes of a Hispano-Suiza Alfonso XIII, the
1933 Mille Miglia-winning MG K3, a Ferrari 166MM, and a Williams
FW07 Formula One car. Appropriately, the arrival of his very
special 427 Cobra at the museum, it happened to coincide with his
acquisition of another titan of the 1960s GT and Competition scene,
a Jaguar Lightweight E-Type. After more than 20 years of ownership,
Mr. Briggs sold his S/C Cobra in 2001 to esteemed Hong Kong-based
collector Chip Connor, whose remarkable collection included both
the 1960 Le Mans-winning Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa and a Ferrari 250
GTO. Shortly after, Mr. Connor would commission a total nut and
bolt restoration on his beloved S/C Cobra. The restoration was
photo documented showing the bare bones of exactly how pure and
original the car is. Since this example had been well cared for and
still had very low mileage, it still retained its original engine,
transmission, body, chassis and many of its interior components.
Upon completion, the car was enjoyed by Mr. Connor for nearly two
decades. Upon acquisition by the team here at Legendary Motorcar,
we decided to return this incredibly special S/C 427 Cobra back to
its original color configuration, just as it left Shelby American.
The Cobras original body was refinished in its factory-delivered
color of Sapphire Blue. Extreme detail was taken to correct its
components and finishes as it had left the factory. This resulted
in an incredibly correct, concours quality example. Today, it is
presented in fantastic condition and ready to be shown at any
prestigious concours around the world. Accompanied with a copy of
the original Shelby American sales invoice, its SAAC Cobra Registry
entry, and a documented world-class restoration. When you break
down the total production of the S/C cars, of the 29 produced, many
were raced hard and suffered from accidents, trauma and replaced
engines, replaced bodies and replaced chassis. This car somehow
made it through life unharmed and undoubtedly remains one of the
most original and exquisitely presented 427 S/Cs extant. As one of
just 29 S/C Cobras produced, it is notable for its incredible
rarity and consequently, remains truly the holy grail of all
street-legal Cobras. Additional Details: 1966 SHELBY 427 COBRA -
