One to Buy: ex-Elvis Presley 'Spinout' / Moises Solana 1965 AC Shelby Cobra 427 Competition
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For many, the 427-engined wide-bodied Competition Cobra remains the definitive incarnation of the collaboration between AC and Carroll Shelby.
Shelby had originally hoped to produce 100 examples of the 427 Cobra Competition, enough for it to be homologated in the FIA’s Group 3 category for GT cars. However, only 53 were ultimately produced, less than half of which were built to actual Competition trim.
One of these was chassis CSX 3011 which Shelby retained for press and promotional duty.
The Guardsman Blue and White-striped machine first appeared in a track test at Riverside for Sports Car Graphic magazine. In late 1965 it joined the famous Shelby Cobra Caravan publicity tour that swept across the USA to celebrate the company’s victorious campaign in that year’s World Sportscar Championship.
In February 1966, CSX 3011 was loaned to MGM Studios to appear in the upcoming Elvis Presley movie Spinout. Now painted white, the Cobra starred as the personal mount of Presley’s character, Mike McCoy.
For ten weeks of filming, Shelby invoiced MGM Studios the sum of $12,595 which was roughly the price of a brand new Cobra.
CSX 3011 was finally sold to its first private owner in October 1966. The buyer was was Moises Solana who placed the order through Ford of Mexico. In addition to a spares package, Solana specified the installation of a dry-sump lubrication system, Koni shocks and racing harnesses.
Solana subsequently went on to race CSX 3011 over the next couple of seasons. Unfortunately, 33 year old Solana died in a fiery accident while driving a Group 7 McLaren in the 1969 Valle de Bravo-Bosencheve Hillclimb.
CSX 3011 was subsequently sold to fellow Mexican, Juan Carlos Bolanos, who continued to race the car for several years until it was damaged in a pit fire.
1978 saw CSX 3011 tracked down and repatriated to the USA where it was rebuilt from the ground up. In more recent times, the Cobra has been subject to an exacting restoration by Cobra Automotive in Wallingford, Connecticut.
CSX 3011 will be going under the hammer during RM Sotheby’s sale at The Arizona Biltmore on January 26th 2023.
For further information, visit the RM Sotheby’s website at: https://rmsothebys.com/
