1964 Shelby Cobra Up for Auction

Car collectors need to prepare their check books, as a1964 Shelby Cobra factory race car will be up for auction by RM Auctions at Amelia Island on March 3. The car is quite impressive, as it is one of only 42 race cars powered by a 289 cu. engine and one of the six “cutback doors” factory team cars.

The car has the CSX2557 chassis number and is in an excellent condition due to a restoration in the mid-1990s. This Cobra has a brief race history in the hands of Shelby and it is believed to sell between $1.5 to $1.9 million.

According to RM Auctions, “CSX 2557 is one of those six 1964 USRRC cars. One of only two of the USRRC Cobras completed with dual side pipes on each side of the car, it was entered in the season-ending FIA race, the Bridgehampton Double 500 in September 1964. Driven there by Charlie Hayes, it failed to finish when a carburetor drain plug worked loose, dumping its fuel on the track and emptying the tank on lap 48 of the 110-lap race.”

“One of the most original and unmolested of all the famed Shelby Cobra 289 race cars, CSX 2557 is in exceptional, meticulously maintained condition today, an example that exhibits nearly a half century’s careful preservation, restoration, maintenance and enjoyment. Its history is clear and unblemished by mishap, disappearance or accident.”

“It was sampled briefly by an RM representative following its catalog photography on a chilly January day in New England. Starting smartly after two pumps on the accelerator and a touch of the key-actuated starter, it settled smoothly into a stable idle. The clutch engaged gently and the engine burbled happily at low rpm, a car anyone accustomed to driving a stick shift Mustang could accommodate easily,” the auctions house says on its website.