One to Buy: ex-Jay Sebring 1964 AC Shelby Cobra 289
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Having retired from a successful driving career that most notably yielded outright victories at the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours and Goodwood Tourist Trophy (both under the employment of the Aston Martin works team), Carroll Shelby turned his attention to creating a Ford-powered open two-seat sports car.
However, rather than develop an all-new machine from the ground up, Shelby struck a deal with AC that would see the British firm’s Ace transformed into a V8-engined rip snorter.
Thanks to its handsome looks, phenomenal performance and on-track prowess, the resultant AC Shelby Cobra quickly came to be regarded as an automotive icon.
After 75 of the early 260-cubic-inch / 4.2-litre Cobras had emerged, Shelby switched to a 289 cubic-inch / 4.7-litre V8. 51 cars later, a much-improved rack and pinion steering system was introduced.
Currently on offer at the Canepa showroom in Scotts Valley, California, is an example of the later 289-engined Cobra with rack and pinion steering: chassis CSX2220.
Even more significantly, this particular car is linked to one of the most infamous moments of 20th century pop culture crime: the Manson Family murders of August 1969.
CSX2220 was invoiced to Shelby American on November 14th 1963 and sold to Executive Leasing in Los Angeles on January 22nd 1964. It was then leased (and later sold) to internationally renowned celebrity hairdresser, Jay Sebring, whose client list included Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Paul Newman, Warren Beatty and Kirk Douglas.
At some stage during his ownership of CSX2220, Sebring had the colour changed from Princess Blue with Red trim to Metallic Black with Black trim.
Unfortunately, on August 8th 1969, Sebring along with his friends Sharon Tate, Wojciech Frykowski and Abigail Folger (along with the housekeeper of the residence on Cielo Drive in California, Steven Parent) were brutally murdered by members of the Manson Family.
Today, the matching numbers Cobra has covered a little uner 27,000 miles.
