1965 Shelby Cobra 427 Roadster

Rules under FIA GT class competition stated that a minimum of 100 examples needed to be produced prior to acceptance in racing. Carroll Shelby, with his strong relationship with privateer racers, felt confident he could sell that many. As a result, a competition spec version of the new 427 was developed.

The competition Cobras were given several differences that set them apart from the standard street machine. This included a wider body to accommodate the wider Halibrand wheels and Goodyear racing tires over the larger rear rots with heavy-duty front and rear calipers, bronze suspension bushings, an external fuel filler, Stewart-Warner 'Booster' fuel pump, a special 42-gallon fuel tank, as well as the front and rear jacking points and roll bar. Under the hood, the engine was given magnesium intake manifolds, aluminum cylinder heads, an oil cooler, rear differential cooler, and unbaffled side exhaust.

Shelby boldly placed an order with AC for 100 of these competition 427 Cobras. Each was finished in primer, with a black interior, and air shipped to Shelby's facilities upon completion. When the FIA inspectors arrived on April 29th of 1965, just 51 cars were completed. Shelby was denied the homologation that he was needed.

Once Shelby was certain that the 427 Cobra was not going to be allowed in the GT class, he cancelled his order for the remaining competition cars, and AC began production of the street cars immediately.

In June of 1965, the FIA decided to create a new class called 'Competition GT', and the production requirement was lowered to 50. This solved a problem, but created a new one. The Shelby Cobra was now in the same class as Ford's GT40. Since Shelby was running the program for Ford, there was a clear conflict of interest. Shelby resolved the issue by agreeing not to campaign his own car, leaving it in the hands of the privateers.

By this point in history, 53 competition chassis had been completed by AC (chassis number CSX3001 through CSX3053). Of those, 16 had been sold to private teams. The first two were retained as prototypes, and one chassis (CSX3027) was sent to Ford Engineering. The remaining 34 sat parked outside Shelby's L.A. warehouse. Charles Beidler, the east coast representative, suggested the cars be painted and completed as street cars and marketed as the fastest street cars ever built. Thus, the 427 S/C 9for semi-competition) was born.

While the cars were being converted for street use, three more orders were received for full competition cars, for a total of just 19 'production,' full-competition cars.

CSX3014 was invoiced to Shelby American on January 20th of 1965. It was originally ordered by Neil Eric Allen, though he never took delivery. Instead the car (completed on September 8th) was sold to Ford Advanced Vehicles in England. This chassis, along with CSX3015 and a pair of GT-350 R models, were shipped to England for promotional purposes.

CSX3014 was finished in white and rented to MGM British Studios during the early part of 1966. It was used in the movie, Grand Prix, starring James Garner and directed by John Frankenheimer. It is believed the car was used as a camera car. After filming, the car was repainted by AC and shown at the London Motor show, where it was exhibited with white side exhaust and Halibrand wheels. After the show, the car returned to Shelby American and delivered to S&C Motors in San Francisco, who sold it to Robert Cooper, of Palo Alto, California. Cooper raced the car, with Dick Terrell driving. When he purchased the car, it was white with a blue stripe, although he repainted the car black with a white stripe. Terrell drove the car throughout the 1968 season, winning the SCCA regional championship that year, securing victories from Laguna Seca to Willow Springs. Terrell and Bob Brown bought the car from Cooper and raced it throughout the 1969 season, with wins at Sears Point and Laguna Seca, among other successful finishes.

The car was later sold in the late 1960s to a medical student; his mother paid for the car. They warned him against driving the car home because of the open exhaust, but he set out anyway, only to be turned back at the Arizona border. The next owner of record, in the mid-1970s, was Corona DelMar, California resident Sam Johnson. It remained with him until the late 1970s, when he sold it, now restored, to Nick Braemer, of Torrance, California. Braemer rebuilt the engine and sold it to Randy Minch in 1980, who undertook a more comprehensive restoration and re-finishing the car in red.

Larry Bowman, purchased the Cobra in 1999. A mechanical restoration soon followed to prepare the car for track use. He participated in the 2003 Monterey Historics and also at the 2003 Coronado Festival of Speed. The current owner acquired the car in 2004.

The 427 cubic-inch overhead valve V-8 engine is estimated to produce 600 horsepower. There is a four-speed manual transmission and four-wheel disc brakes.

In 2012, this car was offered for sale at RM Auctions Monterey, California sale. It was estimated to sell for $1,500,000 - $1,800,000. As bidding came to a close, the car was sold for the sum of $1,485,000 inclusive of buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2012