With the end of winter in Montreal, all the snow has melted in my yard, I want sun and warmth. And I just see the perfect car, a beautiful 1965 Shelby 289 Cobra. This car will be offered during the Amelia Island sale (22 may 2021 in Florida) through RM Sotheby's. Perfect for the summer 😎

No price indicated for the moment but it might go up...

History of Shelby Cobra 289

The Shelby Cobra 289 was the idea of Carroll Shelby, American driver racing in Europe in the 50's and automotive designer. He wanted a car with a combination of an American muscle engine with an European design for his own race car.

The chassis, tubular frame with an aluminum body were built by AC Cars, British automobile manufacturer. And for the motor, Shelby convinced Ford to furnish a V8 engine. The engine was installed in the US on the lightweight frame. Shelby even persuaded the two manufacturers to name the car after him 😀

The car was presented with success during the 1962 New-York Motor Show. Success on tracks wasn't long in coming with a 7th place during the 1963 24 Heures du Mans and better the next year with 4th place overall and first in the GT class 🏆...

Before being sold, this example was originally used at a demonstrator car in Los Angeles between September 1964 and January 1965.

Specification

The Shelby Cobra 289 is equipped with a Ford 289 V8 engine with Weber carburetors mated to a a four-speed manual transmission producing 306 hp. I don't know exactly the performance of this model. But the first Cobra 289 produced 271 hp with a top speed of 210 kmh / 130 mph and can reach 100 kmh in just 5.8 seconds. Impressive little beast !

As demonstration car, this example was originally finished in a bright blue over red livery, you couldn't miss it 😀. In 1997, the car was fully restored by Mike McCluskey, an Cobra expert in California. The livery is less flashy, Tuxedo black over black leather. Just beautiful...