What’s the most expensive Cobra ever sold?
Clue no. 1: It could be this Daytona coupe
by Wallace Alfred Wyss
"Cobramania" is not dead. At least not yet.
According to Lance Coren, a specialist high performance car appraiser in Prather, CA, who used to actually co-own a Cobra restoration shop in Torrance, CA (a shop still existing under the name McCluskey Ltd.) the most expensive Cobra ever sold to date could be the one coming up at the 22nd Dana Mecum Original Spring Classic Auction May 13-17 in Indianapolis. It is a 1965 Shelby Daytona Cobra coupe, chassis no. CSX2601
The coupe, designed by Pete Brock, was one of six coupes built by Carroll Shelby to compete against Ferrari in the F.I.A. (Federation Internationale de l’Automobile) World Manufacturers Championship in the GT race class.
The car is interesting in part because Brock only got begrudging support from the rest of the crew at Shelby-American when he dreamed up the design. The shop crew initially called the car “the slug” but when it proved to be capable of 180 mph in its maiden run at Riverside (which was about 15 mph faster than an open roadster) , the crew decided that the wet-behind-the-ears Brock knew sumpthin’ after all.
That first prototype went on to run the 1964 Daytona Continental — prompting Shelby to adopt the nickname for the car — and order five more coupes built, including CSX2601. The remaining five had bodywork built by Carrozzeria Gran Sport in Modena, Italy, ironically a shop in the same town as Shelby’s arch rivals, Ferrari. The first car had been bodied in Los Angeles by a shop downtown.
After competing at Daytona, Monza, Spa and Nürburgring, CSX2601 made history when it helped to clinch the 1965 World Manufacturers Championship for the U.S. and Shelby American on July 4th in Reims, France.
According to a website called The Car Source the competition record includes eight FIA races in 1965 (Daytona, Sebring, Monza, Spa, Nürburgring, LeMans, Reims, Enna), It won four times in GT III class, at Monza, Nürburgring, Reims, Enna), and at one point or another was driven by Bob Johnson, Tom Payne, Bob Bondurant, Allen Grant, the German driver Jochen Neerpasch and Jo Schlesser (the latter an outstanding French driver who was killed in an accident at the French Grand Prix in 1968).
At Reims, 3-4 July 1965, the drivers were Bondurant & Schlesser. It was painted Guardsman Blue witth the wide white stripes. They won the GT III Class. Ironically though Shelby-American claimed the victory and truly deserved it for designing , building an developing the car,it is little known among the Yank fans of the Cobras that in ’65 Shelby had handed off running the coupes in Europe to a subcontractor, Alan Mann, who deserves credit for its '65 racing record as well.
The last Cobra Daytona coupe that came up for sale was the infamous first one made, #2287, which at one time belonged to accused murderer/record producer Phil Spector and when re-discovered afer 40 plus years in hiding belonged to a lady who decided to light herself on fire. That car went to a doctor in Pennslyvania named Dr. Simeone who reportedly paid in the neighborhood of $4 million dollars. It was a battered wreck when found in storage and hasn't yet been fully restored. A Cobra that fetched more was the original Super Snake, a 427 side oiler powered Cobra built by Shelby for his own amusement, with twin Paxton superchargers and a Lincoln automatic 3 speed transmission. That went for over $5 million at the Barrett Jackson auction.
Whether this Daytona Cobra coupe will surpass that figure remains to be seen because the U.S. is tottering on sliding into a depression and as they say "all bets may be off."
The Daytona to be sold has been restored and will be sold live on U.S. national television May 15 during the “Mecum Auto Auction: Muscle Cars & More” series on Discovery Communications’ HD Theater.
“Many vintage race cars have a strong American racing history to share — including this vehicle’s sister car, CSX 2299 — but no car can claim a finer race hour than the Shelby Daytona Cobra coupe CSX2601,” said Dana Mecum, president of Mecum Auction. (NOTE: The author wishes he knew what "race hour"meant...-Ed.)
Driving the car — and America — to victory on that fateful July afternoon was legendary driver Bob Bondurant.
“I won a lot of races with this Daytona Cobra coupe, but when I crossed the finish line at the Reims race track, I yelled ‘Yes!’ It was a fantastic feeling,” Bondurant said. “I always wanted to race in Europe against the world’s best drivers. Winning that World Championship was the crowning achievement of my career. I think it’s wonderful that the car is being showcased 40 years later.”
Ironically, after their racing careers the Daytona coupes were sold off by Shelby-American as nothing more than derelict race cars. At one point, the American magazine Motor Trend featured a story on a North Dakota businessman with six gas stations who owned this same coupe, each day driving a 300-mile round trip to collect station receipts in his race-trimmed Cobra. I reckon with all that cash, the booty increasing with each station stop, he needed something fast
The Daytona headlines the Original Spring Classis Auction, which is expected to feature 1,250 vehicles.
Held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds, the auction is open to the general public with tickets are available at the door for $10, or may be seen on HD Theater.
Consignment, bidder, and accommodation information for the Indianapolis event is available online at
www.Mecum.com or by calling 815-568-8888.
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Wallace Alfred Wyss is the author of SHELBY The Man, The Cars, The Legend
