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Two Shelby Cobra Roadsters Fetch Over $1 Million Each At Auction

Mecum Auctions has announced the sale of two rare and pricey Shelby Cobra Roadsters. Each of the two models sold for more than $1 Million at an auction held in Indianapolis on May 21, 2016. Lot F124, a 1967 Shelby 427 Cobra Roadster sold for $1,100,000.
1967 Shelby 427 Cobra Roadster (Lot F124) 6 photos
Photo: Mecum Auctions
1967 Shelby GT350 Fastback (Lot F127)1972 Ferrari Dino GT (Lot F243)1965 Shelby GT350 Fastback (Lot F125)1964 Shelby 289 Cobra Roadster (Lot F163)1967 Shelby 427 Cobra Roadster (Lot F124)
On the same day, Lot F163, a 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra Roadster, was traded for $1,000,000. It all happened during the world’s largest muscle car auction in the world, a place where collectors of this kind of vehicle were present in high numbers.

Two other Shelby models went under the hammer, and both switched owners for significant sums. We are talking about a 1965 Shelby GT350 Fastback, which was sold for $500,000, and a 1967 Shelby GT350 Fastback, sold for the “modest” sum of $285,000.

Let’s got back to the two stars of the auction, the Shelby Cobra Roadster models. The first of them, referred to as “Lot F163,” is one of only 453 leaf-spring street Cobras built. It was restored to a factory-original color combination.

It was first purchased by the founder of Mercury Marine, E.C. Kiekhaefer, and was formerly owned by NHRA World Champion Bruce Larson. Mr. Kiekhaefer was the first non-automotive sponsor and the first owner of a professional multi-car team in NASCAR history, so this car has a lot of pedigree behind it.

The example is listed in the Shelby Registry, and has been owned by a collector since the year 1990. The 289 Shelby Cobra Roadster sold for $1 Million is number 271 of only 453 street cars built. As its name says, it came with a 289-cubic-inch V8 engine, which provided 271 HP.

The more expensive Shelby 427 Cobra Roadster is an MY1967 car that only has 20,165 original miles on the odometer. Also listed in the Shelby Registry, it came with an original owner’s manual, an original leather interior, and has known ownership history since new.

Like the other Shelby Cobra Roadster, it was repainted to its original color, not before being stripped to bare aluminum. Collectors consider this example as being “one of the most desirable Cobras offered in recent years,” and the new owner evidently agrees on this.

1964 Shelby 289 Cobra Roadster

1967 Shelby 427 Cobra Roadster

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About the author: Sebastian Toma
Sebastian Toma profile photo

Sebastian's love for cars began at a young age. Little did he know that a career would emerge from this passion (and that it would not, sadly, involve being a professional racecar driver). In over fourteen years, he got behind the wheel of several hundred vehicles and in the offices of the most important car publications in his homeland.
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