They are instantly recognizable from their Wimbledon white and Guardsman blue Le Mans racing stripes, and widely considered the greatest American sports cars ever built. The Shelby Cobra, unlike its close competitor, the Corvette, were modified British cars by American sports racing legend Carroll Shelby, and were produced in very limited numbers — a little over one thousand — over a short period in the 1960s. The Shelby Cobra 289s, for instance, were made only from 1963 to late 1965, while their larger-engine brethren, the Shelby Cobra 427s, were manufactured between 1965 and 1968. Because of their rarity, Shelby cars have been appreciating rapidly on the auction market.
According to experts Blouin Lifestyle spoke to, some have more than doubled in value in less than a decade. “Five years ago, a Shelby Cobra 289 was probably a $400,000 car. These days it’s upwards of $900,000 to $1.2 million, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it went up to $1.5 million in some cases,” says David Gooding, president and founder of Gooding & Company, which sold a 1963 Shelby Cobra 289 Factory Team Car for $2.6 million at Pebble Beach in 2011. “The post-war sports and racing car category has been very hot, and within that subset, the Shelbys have been super strong too.” The Cobra 427— which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year — also trades in the $1.5 million to $2 million range these days, according to Eric Minoff, automobiles specialist at Bonhams, with the rarer racing models fetching much more.
A 1967 Shelby 427 ‘Semi-Competition’ Cobra sold for $2.1 million at RM Sotheby’s 2015 Amelia Island sale in March, while the lone example of a 1966 Cobra 427 Super Snake, initially built for Shelby himself, achieved $5.1 million at Barrett-Jackson Auctions’ 2015 Scottsdale auctions in January. The appeal of Shelby’s cars is directly tied to the charisma of the man who made them. Born January 11, 1923 in Texas, Shelby was a farmer-turned-racecar-driver who raced for the Cad-Allard, Donald Healey, and Maserati teams during the 1950s, setting 16 U.S. and international speed records in the process. His notable Texan drawl and farmer’s attire made him the polar opposite of other drivers, many of whom had the air of rich European playboys. He suffered from health issues throughout his life (starting with heart problems aged 7), but still managed to participate in and win endurance races. He drove an Aston Martin DBR1, together with Englishman Roy Salvadori, to win the famed 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959, and it was during this race that he noted the performance of AC Motors’ GT car, called the Ace — which three years later would become the basis for the AC Cobra.
“He was an iconic individual in terms of what he represented. He knew what he wanted to do with cars and inspired people to follow him or get into racing themselves,” notes Ian Kelleher, West Coast Managing Director of RM Sotheby’s. “He was this everyday guy who happened to also compete on the world stage with other drivers. In a lot of ways, he had a celebrity aura much like Steve McQueen, but it was based on his very real achievements. He even took on Enzo Ferrari at Le Mans.” Shelby started modifying cars soon after retiring from driving in October 1959 due to health reasons, and obtained a licence to import the AC Cobra, which was essentially an AC Ace with a Ford V8 engine that AC had fitted at Shelby’s request, in place of its standard AC six, Ford Zephyr, or 2-liter Bristol engine. Shelby also modified cars manufactured by Ford to create the Mustang-based Shelby GT350 and Shelby GT500, the muscular looking Daytona Coupe, and the sensuously-curved GT40, which famously swept 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places at Le Mans in 1966, relegating Ferrari to 8th place, and effectively marking the start of the end of the Italian marque’s reign at that race.
A 1965 Ford GT40 Roadster Prototype went for $6.9 million at RM Sotheby’s at Monterey in 2014, while the rarity of a Daytona Coupe — with only six of them ever made between 1964 and 1965 — could drive the price to $18-20 million in today’s market, auctioneers say. “One thing that’s always been appealing about Shelbys, compared to Ferrari or Porsche, is that they are mechanically very simple and very easy to work on. They are reliable cars and not quite so temperamental as [some of the European marques],” observes Gooding. Meanwhile, what separates Shelbys from other American sports cars, is that “they are products of the vision of one man. The other American sports cars were built by corporations where one person’s vision was not so clearly felt,” adds Gooding. Minoff agrees, saying, “There are millions of Mustangs and Corvettes, but the number of Shelbys out there is astronomically lower, only a couple of thousand.” As a result, Shelbys are also extremely well documented — the Shelby American Automobile Club has a registry that lists every single chassis number made — making provenance easy to trace for collectors.
All told, Shelby encapsulates the best parts of American racing and sports cars, being successful on the track and still suitable for everyday driving. Minoff observes, “Shelby did very very well in European sports car racing, which makes those cars very desirable. It has the rarity, the history, and the sex appeal.”
