"Spridget" (dustbustervans)
08/07/2016 at 15:03 • Filed to: Ramble, Shelby Cobra
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"Spridget" (dustbustervans)
08/07/2016 at 15:03 • Filed to: Ramble, Shelby Cobra | 2
| 8 |
A Shelby Cobra 289. That’s no big deal, right? There’s always a few of those every year. But this one is special. It’s CSX2000. The first Cobra.
The Shelby Cobra is one of those legendary, larger than life cars. It’s not the first roadster with a huge V8; it was beat by the Corvette and Thunderbird. It’s not the first little car with a big V8; as best as I can tell, that honor goes to the 1956 Rambler Rebel. It’s not really the first of anything if you want to be technical. But it’s probably the best of the type.
Just look at it. The tiny AC Ace body is truly fantastic looking, and the knowledge that this car has a huge American powerplant under the hood just adds to the allure. It’s truly a gorgeous car, and IMO, the Ford engine was the best powerplant for it. Something about it just seems right. The engine is both reliable and more that enough power; 289 Cobras are the better handling Cobras. Shelby nailed the small car, big motor formula. It’s both frighteningly bad and achingly beautiful.
So why is the Shelby Cobra so significant? Because of everything above; it’s just cool. It’s a questionably street legal car built in England by a company that was too small to give a shit about build quality that was transformed by a Lemans wining mad man with access to a ginormous engine. And this one is in the same condition as that ‘75 El Camino that your neighbor Gary bought from a junkyard for $600 and parked on his backyard with the windows down as he tried to figure out what a crankshaft is and if a car needs it. CSX2000's seats are ragged, the engine bay is gunky, it’s been repainted six or seven times, it’s been beat on by automotive journalists, toured the show circuit, and been hooned by Carroll Shelby himself.
CSX2000 is being offered by RM Auctions in Monterey.
sdwarf36
> Spridget
08/07/2016 at 15:22 |
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Ok-I’ll start. I say 6 million.
daender
> Spridget
08/07/2016 at 15:22 |
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Holy shit. I’ve seen that car in Vegas before the old man died. He reportedly turned down offers in excess of 25 MILLION DOLLARS .
djmt1
> Spridget
08/07/2016 at 15:32 |
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Considering he had the Cobra does anyone know why Shelby went out and help build the Sunbeam Tiger? It seems a bit odd he would help build his own competition.
Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
> djmt1
08/07/2016 at 15:44 |
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These weren’t really competition though. These were more Cobra Lite.
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djmt1
> Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies
08/07/2016 at 16:00 |
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I guess that would explain why Shelby tried to licence it to build Stateside. Plus given 7x as many Tigers were built to Cobras, I guess it was a budget option. Still lightweight British Roadsters with Ford V8s, I could see why they would be cross shopped.
Clemsie McKenzie
> Spridget
08/07/2016 at 16:04 |
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Oh man. I’ve never been that much into Cobras, but this one gives me the warms.
CharadeLife
> Spridget
08/07/2016 at 16:25 |
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I Just saw this car last May when I visited the Shelby HQ. It was truly awe inspiring to see, not just for the history, but the value! The gentleman giving the tour made it seem like it would never be sold, I guess EVERYTHING has price tag on it. It’ll be sad to see this piece of automotive history get tucked away in someone’s collection. That is unless another museum picks it up...
Arch Duke Maxyenko, Shit Talk Extraordinaire
> djmt1
08/07/2016 at 17:18 |
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It was more of a Jack Brabham idea that Shelby helped develop, but didn’t build.