The Mystery Car Revealed: Shelby's Lonestar 'Cobra III' Debuts At 2018 Amelia Concours

February 15, 2018 by Amelia Island Concours

The sole Shelby Lonestar,created in secrecy a half-century ago as a replacement for the legendary 427 Shelby Cobra, will make its international concours debut at the 23rd annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance on March 11, 2018.

Based on the GT40 chassis the Ford V-8-powered mid-engine coupe was assembled in England during 1968 and wore the name 'Cobra III' in internal Shelby documents.

The Cobra was a very hard act to follow but the Lonestar checked all the right boxes; and Shelby had a potent plan. But there were considerable obstacles: Ford had acquired the Cobra name a year earlier. So Shelby, a Texan by birth, nature and bearing, named his third-generation 'Cobra' after his home state and the Shelby Lonestar was born.

In the end US safety legislation halted the budding project. A disgruntled Shelby left for the wilds of South Africa. The Lonestar was advertised for the then princely sum of $15,000 but there were no takers. Now, after a sensitive and complex ten year-plus restoration, Shelby's only Lonestar will make its international concours debut at the 2018 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance.

'The Lonestar is a globally significant one-of-a-kind car. With its pedigree and design it could have changed history,' said Bill Warner, founder and Chairman of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. 'We're honored that the Lonestar's owner has chosen to reintroduce Carroll Shelby's 'ultimate Cobra' to the world at The Amelia.'

Congratulations to Jeffrey Moore of Rogersville, Missouri for being the first to correctly identify the Shelby Lonestar and win two tickets to the 2018 event! We also want to thank the hundreds of entrants who guessed and the half dozen that guessed correctly.

Tickets to see the Shelby Lonestar and the rest of the 300 historically significant vehicles appearing at the 23rd Annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance can be purchased online at

www.ameliaconcours.org.

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About The Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance

Now in its third decade, the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance is among the top automotive events in the world. Always held the second full weekend in March, 'The Amelia' draws over 300 rare vehicles from collections around the world to The Golf Club of Amelia Island and The Ritz-Carlton, Amelia Island for a celebration of the automobile like no other. Since 1996, the show's Foundation has donated over $3.2 million to Community Hospice & Palliative Care, Spina Bifida of Jacksonville, The Navy - Marine Corps Relief Society, Shop with Cops, and other deserving charities. In 2013 and 2016 the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance won Octane Magazine's EFG International Historic Motoring Event of the Year award.The 23rd annual Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance is scheduled for March 9-11, 2018. For more information, visit www.ameliaconcours.org.