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Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000 Will Be Auctioned at RM Monterey

When AC brought the Ace to market in 1953, the British manufacturer employed a 2.0-liter straight-six with just 100 horsepower on tap. Then the AC Cobra came out and a gentleman going by the name of Carroll Shelby took it to extreme lengths. The Shelby Cobra we’ll talk about today isn’t the terrifying 427 Super Snake, but Carroll’s daily driver from 1962.
Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000 11 photos
Photo: RM Sotheby's
Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000Carroll Shelby's 1962 Shelby Cobra CSX 2000
Also known as CSX 2000, the Shelby Cobra in the clip and photo gallery below is dubbed by the peeps at RM Sotheby’s as “the most important American sports car to ever be offered for sale.” They’re probably right considering how much of an impact Carroll made on the American sports car scene with the advent of the Shelby Cobra. So, how much do you think this car is worth? No estimate is available, sorry.

Back in 2007, Barrett-Jackson sold Carroll’s personal 427 Super Snake went for $5.5 million. At the Pebble Beach auction in 2014, the Shelby Cobra 205 CSX 2005 (a.k.a. the fifth production model) failed to meet the minimum estimate of $2 million. CSX 2000, however, is the first Shelby Cobra ever made and it was owned by Carroll himself. As such, my gut tells me the bidding on this thing will get very, very passionate.

CSX 2000 was tested in 1962 by our friends at Road&Track and, believe it or not, the 4.3-liter (260 cu.in.) V8 could propel the car to 60 mph (96 km/h) in 4.2 seconds. Quarter mile? 13.8 seconds. What about the top speed? 153 mph (246 km/h). For the Swinging Sixties, these figures are extremely impressive.

“When it comes to American sports cars, CSX 2000 is without peers. Its historical significance and impact on the global sports car scene cannot be overstated,” said Shelby Myers, RM Sotheby’s specialist. “In the automotive world, CSX 2000 was the shot heard ‘round the world; it revolutionized not only American racing, but the greater auto industry as a whole. Had Carroll Shelby never decided to squeeze that high-performance V8 into its engine bay, there would be no Cobra and certainly no Shelby American, nor GT40, nor the others that followed."

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About the author: Mircea Panait
Mircea Panait profile photo

After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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