I know, this isn’t exactly a barn find, but it’s such an incredible car that we just had to feature it! You see, this Cobra isn’t just a rare competition model, it’s a Super Snake and it happened to be Carroll Shelby’s personal car. He had it commissioned in an attempt to create the ultimate Cobra, a task I think they definitely achieved. It features a unique mix of competition and semi-competition components, but it’s what’s under the hood that makes it truly incredible. We will get to that in a moment! The car is set to be auctioned by Barrett Jackson at their Scottsdale event this coming March. Plan on bringing a truckload of money though, as this one will surely go for a massive amount.
So, what exactly is under the hood of this Cobra? Well, to start, it’s not your run-of-the-mill Ford 427 V8. It was reworked for use as a competition motor, as this car started life as an all-out race car. It actually toured England as a Competition model for promotional events before being sent back to the States where it was converted to a street-legal car. Carroll’s friend Stan Mullin owned a Ferrari at the time and Shelby wanted a car that could absolutely leave Mullin’s car in the dust, so he apparently had his buddy Joe Granatelli at Paxton Superchargers send over a pair of superchargers for the car. You read that correctly, a pair!
Seeing twin turbochargers isn’t all that unusual these days, but when was the last time you saw twin superchargers, especially on a car that was built in the 1960s? Each one is plumbed to its owner 4-barrel carburetor for a total of 8-barrels. The carbs are mounted to a cross-ram intake manifold and exhaust gas exits through the car’s original headers and side-pipes. And just to make sure we all know that this was a Shelby, Carroll signed one of the carburetor hats and while it’s looking a little thin, his signature is still there. Between the height of the carburetors and supercharger hats, the hood had to be modified with a massive scoop to make room and it just happens to create one of the best-looking Cobras ever built (at least in my opinion). According to Mr. Mullin, this car was beyond fast and didn’t just beat his Ferrari, but absolutely destroyed it. He claimed that the car accelerated harder from 140 than it did from a standstill and it was apparently good for 190 mph!
After Shelby had his fun with it, it was sold off and has passed through a number of collector’s hands throughout the years. The last time it was offered was in 2015. It has been freshened up over the years, but never fully restored. The engine is number’s matching, the exhaust system is all original, and it looks like the interior is even still original. There was one other Super Snake built, but unfortunately, that one was in a fatal crash leaving this one to be the sole remaining Cobra Super Snake. It definitely is a special find that will likely fetch well over $5 million. So with that thought in mind, I better go out to the shop and install the supercharger on our 1965 Beetle, it’s likely as close as I’ll ever get to a twin-supercharged ’60s car!
Did Mr.Shelby have it built with an AT trans or a later owner??
Both of the Super Snakes were automatics. The other was built for Bill Cosby, but it scared the heck out of him so he gave it back! Or so I’ve read.
And that car was at an auction in the last ten years as well
Seems to be true.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVZRje5d3LU
This is true. Cosby’s car was the one involved in the fatal accident.
OOOOOH! That BLUE! So pretty! But, honestly Ford recycled that same shifter set up for YEARS in so many different cars! It just looks a little dinky for a car of this magnitude!! :-)
I actually had that shifter in a Pinto 🤭
And it looks like the one used in the first generation Mustang. My dad had a ’66 with the 200 six banger and a C4 and it had that shifter.
I have a 35mm slide picture that I took of a first generation Cobra with dual 4-barrel carbs, painted wire wheels, white walls, and that unmistakable automatic shifter. It was a Ford company car, driven to my family’s home on a Saturday, by the son of a Ford executive, then a VP, who became the first chairman of Ford not from the Ford family.
“…not exactly a barn find…” Duh, ‘ya think? Couldn’t be farther from a barn find.
sorry but carrol shelby’s cobra was not blue. it was gray
That’s one of the MANY Shelby owned Cobras. The one that sold recently was the gray one that was in his ownership the longest.
I think it sold for somewhere around 6 million the last time.
Does anyone know “how many Cobras were considered Carrol Shelby’s personal car?” I suspect that he had many over the years. The Super Snake is obviously a very unique one, but I suspect many of the others were very unique in their own right.
Damn… to afford this car, you need to be one of the very few (relatively speaking) that breathe rarified air. I guess I’ll have to settle for wet dreams involving this car…
The Only Cobra I want is the one that Anne Francis sat in. Now if you don’t know who that is/was google Honey West.
OMG, I just did. How could I have not know about her, all these years?
Lighting a cigarette.
I’m a bit of a chicken so you won’t find me in this at 190 MPH, seems to me that they had a stability problem over 160…
In 1972 it was repainted Guardsman Blue with a gold nose. In 2002 it sported the color red, as did many of Shelby’s Cobras. In 2016, Legendary Motorcar Company restored it back to 1965 specifications, including the original Charcoal Gray.
Tread life measured in minutes, not miles.