Description

Chassis No. CSX 2047

The 260 Cobra is the original and purest iteration of Carroll Shelby's force-fed AC Ace, with svelte, slim-hipped styling that retains the grace of the original Ace. It is the original product of Ol' Shel's brilliant realization that a lightweight British roadster combined with raw American V-8 power would produce something truly potent and fearsome on the track – competing against both the home-bred Corvette and European products such as the Ferrari.

AC and Ford were both avid collaborators in the project, with the British manufacturer sending Aces finished save for engine and gearbox, and the Blue Oval supplying the latter. In test-driving the first example built, Sports Car Graphic commented that “we can safely say that it is one of the most impressive production sports cars we've ever driven.” It went on to record a 4.2-second 0-60 mph time in the June 1962 issue of Car Life, and soon captured the imagination of the public as few other sports cars of its era had. A legend in its own time was born, and would birth numerous variations and a wider legacy for its creator.

CSX 2047, offered here, is an exceptional example, as only the 47th of the 62 early roadgoing 260 Cobras, and was billed to Shelby American in mid-November 1962. Finished in red over a black interior with sun visors, wind wings, front and rear bumpers, aluminum rocker covers, and chrome exhaust tips and hood latches, it was sold in late 1963 to Dave Grubbe Ford of Burbank, California. Its first private owner's name has been lost to history, but one can imagine the looks that it received on Southern California roads as one of the first Cobras viewed by the public in that area.

In 1968 the Cobra was acquired by Lieutenant Kit Coyle of La Jolla, California, a fighter pilot stationed at the Naval Air Station at Miramar. Miramar was in these days still a hotbed of young men driving hot performance and sports cars, who were buying used Cobras and Corvettes and running them as intended on a regular basis, to and from the airfield where they experienced power of a different sort in the cockpit. Lieutenant Coyle used the car appropriately as his daily driver for five years, then had it refinished in British Racing Green and installed a new exhaust system, battery, and carpeting in preparation for offering the car for sale in early 1973.

Bob Schiro, owner of a car dealership near Santa Clara, California, had begun to appreciate with his finely tuned salesman's eye that Shelby Cobras were unique automobiles, with potential to become a future collectible. Accordingly, in the early 1970s he began to quietly acquire examples and put them into storage in a climate-controlled warehouse, where they were secreted away. CSX 2047, acquired from Lieutenant Coyle, became one of those cars. While seldom driven, it was maintained, with the Shelby American World Registry noting that Schiro performed significant work on the engine and transmission in 1977; replacing the battery and radiator hoses and rebuilding the carburetor in 1993; and repainting the body red in 2001. He occasionally offered the car for sale but, at each juncture, his price was not accepted by the public. Still having faith that the Cobra would one day be worth what he envisioned, he never wavered and kept the car in the collection.

The Cobra thus remained in the Schiro stable until its owner's passing in 2019, then – having become a collectible as planned! – was at last acquired by an owner in Northern California. Since returned to its proper original red livery, it retains its period upholstery and trim from the Lieutenant's ownership, and has a delightfully authentic presentation throughout, including the correct 'mushroom' gearshift knob. Both the hood and trunk latches are still stamped, correctly, with the last two digits of the serial number, 47. The car is complete with what appear to be the original top and side curtains.

A wonderfully usable leaf-sprung early 260 Cobra, this fascinating example with wonderful history fairly begs for enjoyment on the open road. It would still be right at home in La Jolla, racing towards the coast with the power of a F-4 Phantom.

Some things never change.