One of the rarest Shelby Cobra 427 Roadsters has been put up for auction in the USA. This is a 1966 car with an original chassis, body, and a 7.0-liter Ford FE V8. According to Carscoops, the car could go for over $3 million.
The main reason for such a price is its rarity. Only 16 factory Cobra 427 Roadsters were painted black, and one of them has appeared at auction. For collectors, this is no longer just a classic sports car, but practically a piece of American automotive history.
The Shelby Cobra is considered one of the most extreme cars of the 1960s. The concept was extremely simple: a lightweight British AC Cobra body and a huge American V8 from Ford. The 427 version received an engine with about 425 hp and could accelerate to over 260 km/h – figures that seemed almost insane in the mid-60s.
Interestingly, the value of original Cobras continues to rise even amidst a cooling market for collectible cars. Some special versions are already selling for more than modern hypercars. For example, Carroll Shelby's personal Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake previously sold for approximately $5.5 million.
Paradoxically, the Cobra was created as a relatively affordable and raw sports car. Today, every surviving car has become an investment object that rarely hits the road. At the same time, many collectors consider such cars to be the last "analog" supercars – without electronics, assistants, and digital systems.
Compared to modern cars, the Shelby Cobra still looks frighteningly simple: a huge V8, a manual gearbox, minimal weight, and a complete lack of stability systems. And it is this mechanical "honesty" that continues to drive up the prices of original Cobras.