Monterey Car Week is the perfect time to set new auction records. We’ve already had the most expensive Ferrari Luce in the world, thanks to the sale of the first of its kind, which sold for $40 million. Now, a stunning Shelby Cobra has broken another record.
This is a 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, which was sold during Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach auctions at Monterey Car Week. The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe is one of the rarest cars Shelby ever made, built specifically to take on the Ferrari 250 GTO.
The Cobra Coupe became such a well-regarded and important car that, in 2014, the first coupe became the first vehicle recorded under a U.S. federal program for documenting historically significant national treasures. To prove that, it has sold for nearly $43 million at the Gooding Christie’s auction at Pebble Beach.
Not only did it sell for a wild price, but it set a new record. This 1964 example has become the most expensive American car ever sold at an auction. Such was its price that it nearly doubled the previous record, which had been set by a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ.
How Much Did This Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe Sell For?
Once the hammer fell, the car had sold for a staggering $39 million. Once the fees had been taken into consideration, the total was a staggering $42.905 million. Officially, it is now the most expensive American car ever sold at an auction.
That nearly doubled the record set by the Duesenberg SSJ, which previously sold for $22 million. The Cobra Coupe is clearly a valuable car, but some may not have expected this car to sell for so much. However, this particular Cobra has a remarkable history that helped it set its record auction price. The car itself is chassis CSX2300, the only Daytona Coupe ever personally owned by Carroll Shelby himself.
Add in the fact that the car is one of just six ever made, and it’s easy to see why it sold for such a high price. The car was originally designed to race against Ferrari in international GT racing. Specifically, Shelby had the all-conquering Ferrari 250 GTO firmly in his sights. The effort into designing and building the cars clearly paid off. In 1965, Shelby American won the FIA World GT Championship with the Cobra Coupe. That more than vindicated the effort that Shelby and his team put in to build the car.
This Particular Cobra Coupe Had a Full Restoration
This very special Cobra made its debut at the 1964 Tour de France Automobile, with Bob Bondurant and Jochen Neerpasch at the wheel of the car. As well as being the car that won the 1965 FIA World GT Championship, this car had further use even after Shelby American’s factory racing program ended. In fact, it was the only Cobra Daytona Coupe to keep racing beyond its creator’s program.
The car would go on to successfully race in Japan through to 1968. Carroll Shelby himself would then bring the car back to the United States, and he would own it from 1975 to 1998. It was the only example of the Cobra Coupe that Shelby would ever own. Over the years, it has been very carefully restored. It wears the number 12, matching its appearance at the 1965 12 Hours of Sebring, where the car finished 6th overall and 3rd in class. It is also finished in the striking blue livery it would have raced in at the time.