Carroll Shelby is mostly famous for the beefed-up Ford Mustangs and the wild Shelby Cobras of the 1960s. But he also designed and approved a couple of cool sports cars in recent decades. The Shelby Series 1, which went into production in 1998, is one of them. The second one, the 2004 Ford Shelby Cobra Concept, is a modern take on the original Cobra and just sold for a whopping $2.64 million.
Also known as Project Daisy, this modernized Cobra was designed by Ford's Advanced Product Creation team in collaboration with Carroll Shelby. Unveiled at the 2004 Detroit Auto Show, the Shelby Cobra Concept is the last vehicle approved by Carroll himself.
Although it was initially scheduled to go into production, Daisy remained a one-off concept due to the economic crisis. Ford kept the show car until 2007 when it was auctioned off for $825,000 and ended up with Chris Theodore, the company's former VP of Product Development. Come 2021 and the concept changed hands for $2.64 million, including the buyer's premium, at Mecum's Monterey 2021 auction.
Obviously inspired by the original Shelby Cobra of the 1960s, the Ford Shelby Cobra Concept sports a retro-styled exterior and a basic interior devoid of many convenience features, such as a radio and air conditioning. But the concept is in fact notably different than its spiritual predecessor.
For starters, it's notably bigger than the original Cobra. But more importantly, it doesn't have a V8 engine. Ford opted to drop a 6.4-liter V10 under the hood. An all-aluminum unit based on Ford's modular V8, the V10 injected 645 horsepower and 501 pound-feet (679 Nm) of torque in the Shelby Cobra concept. The mill was later used in the 2005 Ford Shelby GR-1, a modern tribute to the Cobra Daytona race car.
Needless to say, it would have made a fantastic production model, one that would have become a prized collectible by now.
At $2.64 million, the Shelby Cobra concept is not the most expensive Shelby ever auctioned, but it found itself a place in the top 10. It falls behind the first-ever Shelby Cobra ($13.75 million), Carroll's personal Cobra 427 ($5.94 million), the Cobra Super Snake ($5.5 million), and a 1965 Shelby GT350R ($3.85 million).
Hopefully, the happy new owner will showcase it at public events and maybe even drive it on the track so we can hear that rare Ford V10 engine roar once again.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
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