Carroll Shelby's prototype Shelby AC Cobra is going to be sold, it's never been out of Shelby's ownership. The first cars were built w/the larger Ford thinwall-casting V8 which began in the early 1960's as a 221 cu.in. V8. By the time Shelby convinced Ford to sell him engines, he got access to the 260 cu.in. model.
http://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/rm-sothebys-set-to-auction-first-ever-shelby-cobra/
Road & Track had a great article on the history of this car. Shelby built one, and painted it different colors when he loaned it out to the magazines for testing, to make it seem like this was one of many built. He never parted with it, and it has never been refurbished cosmetically, so it has a patina, a lot of patina! Since that is much in-demand these days in the collector car market, and this has to be considered to be one of the most-iconic cars from an enthusiast's view, it's probably going to sell for well over 7 figures (my guess is $3 million). Considering that the 427 versions of this car were selling for a bit over $7 grand when new, that's a lot of added value because of who owned it, and the fact it's the prototype from which the production series was 'hatched.'
One of my FL acquaintances owned one of the first 260 cu.in. AC Cobras which he bought for the price of a new house in the late 1970's. He and his father ran a machine shop. They disassembled it, refurbished it, and sold it for > 4X what they paid for it after a couple of years. I watched them do it.
It will be interesting to see what this never-sold prototype AC Shelby goes-for, CSX2000 is the VIN.
More info: http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/road-tests/reviews/a18114/1962-shelby-csx2000-1/ This is a great read if you like the historical perspective.
Interestingly, the original AC made in Great Britain used a Bristol engine, but as part of the WW II war reparations paid by Germany, the BMW inline-6 cyl engine production line was shipped to England, where the engine began production. It was put into the AC Ace and the Acea, which is the car that Carroll Shelby found had a wide-enough engine compartment to accept an American V-8.
http://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/rm-sothebys-set-to-auction-first-ever-shelby-cobra/
Road & Track had a great article on the history of this car. Shelby built one, and painted it different colors when he loaned it out to the magazines for testing, to make it seem like this was one of many built. He never parted with it, and it has never been refurbished cosmetically, so it has a patina, a lot of patina! Since that is much in-demand these days in the collector car market, and this has to be considered to be one of the most-iconic cars from an enthusiast's view, it's probably going to sell for well over 7 figures (my guess is $3 million). Considering that the 427 versions of this car were selling for a bit over $7 grand when new, that's a lot of added value because of who owned it, and the fact it's the prototype from which the production series was 'hatched.'
One of my FL acquaintances owned one of the first 260 cu.in. AC Cobras which he bought for the price of a new house in the late 1970's. He and his father ran a machine shop. They disassembled it, refurbished it, and sold it for > 4X what they paid for it after a couple of years. I watched them do it.
It will be interesting to see what this never-sold prototype AC Shelby goes-for, CSX2000 is the VIN.
More info: http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/road-tests/reviews/a18114/1962-shelby-csx2000-1/ This is a great read if you like the historical perspective.
Interestingly, the original AC made in Great Britain used a Bristol engine, but as part of the WW II war reparations paid by Germany, the BMW inline-6 cyl engine production line was shipped to England, where the engine began production. It was put into the AC Ace and the Acea, which is the car that Carroll Shelby found had a wide-enough engine compartment to accept an American V-8.
