What Was the Last Car Carroll Shelby Worked on
The King of all Kings, the Cobra of all Cobras is going up for sale.
The only surviving 1966 Shelby 427 Cobra Super Snake, custom-made for legendary race car driver Carroll Shelby, was the most powerful sports car that he and his benefactor, Henry "The Deuce" Ford II, ever built together to battle Ferrari in the 1960s.
The vehicle uses a 427-cubic inch Ford big block engine. It's pure power.
This Guardsman Blue two-seat roadster last sold for $5.1 million in 2015. It hits the auction block again next month, livestreamed from Scottsdale, Arizona, with bids online and by phone expected from all over the world.
"This is the ultimate," Craig Jackson, CEO of Barrett-Jackson, told the Free Press. "It was made to go kick Ferrari's ass on the street after just doing it on the track."
Shelby did win back-to-back endurance races in Le Mans, France, in 1966 and 1967.
It was a stunning victory for him and Ford Motor Co.
This Cobra — CSX 3015 — is part of that history.
The hot little number is one of 23 original 427 competition roadsters built during the peak competition between the automakers, which was featured in the Hollywood blockbuster "Ford v. Ferrari."
'Wicked fast'
Shelby, an accomplished car designer and automaker himself, came home and modified his beloved race car to make it even more powerful.
He installed an automatic transmission and added twin Paxton superchargers to the V-8 engine "and mated it to a 3-speed automatic transmission that could handle the massive power. The car was wicked fast and became a cultural icon," Jackson said.
He basically built Godzilla.
More:Buyers clamor to spend $100,000 on reimagined Shelby Cobra, Ford GT40
More:New Shelby Mustang is 'stunning perfection' at $298,000
While Shelby had many cars, this one was a prized possession. This was considered his bad boy, an ultimate driving machine that he took from Los Angeles to Tahoe and sometimes from Reno to Tahoe for high-speed desert driving. It was inspired by a lost race against a lawyer friend who drove a Ferrari and left Shelby in the dust.
'He ate that Ferrari alive'
"Carroll blew by his attorney at 140 mph," Jackson said. "Carroll did not like to lose. And he ate that Ferrari alive."
This vehicle, when it was sold in 2007, set the price for highest price ever paid for an American car at $5.5 million. Thus, it became a "Jeopardy!" question.
In February 1968, Road & Track magazine called it "The Cobra To End All Cobras," said Craig Jackson, CEO of Barrett-Jackson. ""CSX 3015 is arguably one of the most iconic, and important, American sports cars ever built."
During the 2007 auction, Shelby told the crowd about the time he was pulled over by the Nevada Highway Patrol going 190 mph. There were no speed limits back in the day.
"Back then in Nevada, the speed limit was what was reasonable and prudent," Jackson said, laughing. "I guess if you're Carroll Shelby, 190 is reasonable and prudent."
More:Mustang Cobra Jet destroys quarter mile at 170 mph, all electric
More:1st Mustang Shelby GT 500 found; experts crowd-source its history
More:Carroll Shelby: Son of a mail carrier revolutionizes American racing
So much history is tied to this Cobra, so the collector who ends up paying top dollar will buy something invaluable, really.
"This car is a very special car," Jackson said. "It's Carroll's personal car, one he built for himself. You just don't get any rarer than that."
Jim Farley, CEO of Ford and himself an accomplished race car driver, said Wednesday when he learned of the auction, "The 1966 Shelby Cobra Super Snake is the Holy Grail of high performance. Maybe forbidden fruit as it's the only one. Hoping it goes to someone who drives and shares it."
Farley and Shelby were known in the auto racing world as close friends for many years. Shelby was a mentor to Farley, who now races a Ford GT40 when he can.
"I loved that man. I really did."
'Cheated death'
Jonathan Klinger, vice president of car culture at Traverse City-based Hagerty, the world's largest insurer of collector vehicles, said this Cobra is famous for many reasons, including its value.
"At the time of each sale, the premium paid for the car was 3.1 times and 2 times the current market value for a 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Competition Roadster in top condition," Klinger said. "Shelbys have been hot since the "Ford v. Ferrari" movie, and CSX 3015 could pick up speed at auction next month."
Connection to Shelby, who died in 2012, has global significance.
"Carroll Shelby was a larger-than-life hero to many car lovers. He started with nearly nothing and then became a successful race car driver, had grit, cheated death many times and did everything on his terms," Klinger said. "Nearly every car he touched sells for a premium and this Super Snake would be the centerpiece in any collection."
The 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake will be auctioned with no starting price. Jackson told the Free Press he expected it will sell for $5 million to $8 million. Shelby's grandson, Aaron Shelby, will be there, too.
More:The first Ford Mustang owner kept the car. It's now worth $350,000
Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction will livestream the event on Saturday, March 27 on barrett-jackson.com.
Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 3 13-222-6512 or phoward@freepress.com . Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid . Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter.
What Was the Last Car Carroll Shelby Worked on
Source: https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2021/02/17/last-1966-shelby-cobra-super-snake-sold-barrett-jackson/6785570002/