One to Buy: 1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra

Dec 8

Dec 8 One to Buy: 1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra

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.

Reprinted below is RM Sotheby’s description for this, one of the most famous Cobras in existence:

A true triple threat: The only Cobra to feature on the Cobra Caravan, in a major Hollywood movie, and in-period competition
Utilized by Shelby as a part of their famous Cobra Caravan publicity tour
Documented as Elvis Presley’s “hero car” in the 1966 MGM Studios film Spinout
First owned and raced in period by the Formula One driver Moisés Solana Arciniega
Retained by the consignor between 1982 and 1993, then reacquired in 2006

It was classic Carroll Shelby, a delightfully mad idea made even madder: Take the already ferocious 289 Cobra . . . and “upgrade” it with a 427. Ford’s engineering department assisted in redeveloping the Cobra platform to take the massive powerhouse, re-engineering the chassis to be five inches wider, and mounting coil springs all around. To contain wider wheels and tires, the body swelled with menacing fender bulges, as if it could barely conceal the throbbing 500 horsepower being produced by the cast-iron 427-cubic-inch V-8 within.

Shelby intended to race the 427 Cobra in the FIA’s Group 3 GT-class, and planned to produce 100 competition cars for homologation purposes. But by the time FIA inspectors arrived at his facility, only 51 of the cars had been completed, and so he was denied their approval. He subsequently canceled his order for the remaining competition cars, with a total of 53 competition chassis produced, of which 23 were completed in full race trim and sold to private teams. Two additional were retained as prototypes, and one rolling chassis was sent to Ford Engineering.

These 427 Competition Cobras feature a number of differences that separate them from the standard street machine, including larger rear brake rotors with heavy-duty front and rear calipers, optional 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. Additionally, beneath the scooped hood, they had magnesium intake manifolds, aluminum cylinder heads, an oil cooler, rear differential cooler, and the intimidating, unbaffled side exhaust. Each was finished in primer, with a black interior, and air shipped to Shelby’s facilities upon completion.

CSX 3011, THE 427 COBRA PRESS CAR

As documented by the Shelby American Automobile Registry, this 427 Competition Cobra (CSX 3011) was first invoiced by AC on 11 January 1965, and then subsequently completed by Shelby on 14 May. It is recorded as the only example of the initial batch of 19 competition cars which was not pre-sold to a privateer racing team.

By September, CSX 3011 had been painted Guardsman Blue with white stripes and fitted with FIA-spec Halibrand magnesium racing wheels. CSX 3011 first worked publicity duty when it was supplied to Jerry Titus’ Sports Car Graphic magazine staff for testing at Riverside International Raceway. In their words, “…the 427 Cobra is a brute. There's no other word for it.”

It was then subsequently included on the famous Shelby Cobra Caravan publicity tour across the USA. Paired with a GT 350 R, GT 350, Street 427 Cobra, Cobra Daytona Coupe, and Rob Walker’s GT 40, CSX 3011 and the Cobra Caravan stopped in 12 major cities to celebrate the company’s victory in the 1965 FIA International Championship for GT Manufacturers, and to promote Carroll Shelby’s new book, The Cobra Story. Even though CSX 3011 remained unsold nearly a year after its completion by the factory, there can no doubt that Shelby American still got their money’s worth from this competition chassis.

By March 1966, it was surely the most photographed and widely seen example of the company’s new competition model. Shelby derived plenty of sales from their successes in motorsports, but they also needed to get their race-proven cars out in front of the buying public—in Ford showrooms, auto exhibits, and the media; CSX 3011 was a crucial sales tool of the latter effort.

CSX 3011 further cemented its title as de facto 427 Competition Cobra Press Car when, on 7 February 1966, it was loaned to MGM Studios for the filming of an upcoming movie starring “the King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley. The resulting project was later released in October 1966 under the title Spinout, with a plot involving a single, road-racing musician who finds himself trapped between three different women seeking to marry him. CSX 3011 (then painted white) features prominently in the popular film as none other than the “hero car” of the protagonist, Mike McCoy, as played by Elvis. Having completed filming 10 weeks later, Shelby American invoiced MGM Studios on 25 April for a grand sum of $12,595.

INTO PRIVATE HANDS

In October 1966, CSX 3011 was finally sold into private ownership. On 11 October, Shelby American invoiced Formula One driver Moisés Solana Arciniega for the car, freight delivery, and a compendium of additional racing spares totaling $11,393. The order was placed via Ford of Mexico, and CSX 3011 was subsequently delivered on 15 October to Laredo, Texas in immediate preparations for a race Solana had entered. Interestingly, Solana specified the fitment of a dry sump lubrication system, Koni shocks, and shoulder harnesses.

The talented Mexican driver had previously garnered much success while driving a 289 Cobra, and so this new competition model seemed a natural fit for him. Solana would race CSX 3011 several times in Mexico and the United States until he suffered a fatal accident in an unrelated hillclimb event on 27 July 1969.

From Solana’s estate CSX 3011 then passed to his countryman Juan Carlos Bolanos, who continued to race the car for several years until it was subject to a significant pit fire that damaged its original engine and body.

In 1978, the car was tracked down in Mexico by the Cobra enthusiast Jim Southard of Marietta, Georgia, and brought to the well-regarded technicians at Cobra Restorers (Kennesaw, Georgia) for a full resurrection of the highest quality. Partway through its restoration, CSX 3011 was purchased by the consignor—a noted Shelby Cobra collector and vintage racer based in Ontario, Canada. This important 427 Competition Cobra was subsequently completed from the bare frame up with new alloy bodywork attributed to Brian Angliss of Cobra Parts/Autokraft fame, as well as a new interior, chromed roll bar, white side pipes, and fresh coat of Rangoon Red paint.

The consignor retained CSX 3011 until 1993, and then having regretted its sale, spent the interceding years trying to purchase it back; he finally reacquired it in 2006. After exhibition during SAAC 32 (2007) at Miller Motorsports Park in Erda, Utah, CSX 3011 was submitted to a restoration back to its original factory specifications, as shown during its 1965–1966 publicity duties. The renowned specialists Cobra Automotive in Wallingford, Connecticut painstakingly restored CSX 3011 over the course of three years, engaging multiple marque historians and SAAC concourse judges as consultants. Invoices on file totaling nearly $300,000 firmly illustrate that absolutely no expense was spared in returning this important Competition Cobra to a state of ideal mechanical performance and historically accurate presentation.

Newly restored, CSX 3011 debuted in 2011 during SAAC 36 at Virginia International Raceway, and promptly secured Gold Award class honors.

As a carefully treasured prize of the consignor’s significant collection of Shelby Cobras, CSX 3011 has always been thoroughly enjoyed while under their ownership. Today, CSX 3011 is accompanied by restoration invoices, historic imagery, owner’s manual, Spinout movie memorabilia, and an original Cobra Caravan press brochure.

The 427 Competition Cobras have always been the most desirable Cobras ever built, and ownership is a dream of many Shelby enthusiasts. Perhaps even greater than its 22 427 Competition Cobra siblings, CSX 3011 is truly a triple threat of Shelby significance: It is the only Cobra to have featured in the Cobra Caravan tour, a major Hollywood movie, and in-period competition.