Shelby "Supersnake" Cobra $ 5 m sale !

[Mike Dozier]

Sold at Barrett Jackson by Harley Cluxton for $ 5 big ones !
Unless I'm mistaken....Harley bought the car for $ 1 m last year.
Not a bad little profit !

MikeD

[Chris Ardern]

Harley Cluxton. I missed that. I wondered what happened to him. That guy has had some major racing iron pass though his hands over the years. Is that the Bill Cosby car? There were 2 of them weren't there?

[Mike from Vegas]

Is it just my imagination (no pun intended), or is that EXORBIDANT? . If I'm not mistaken, that's more than the "mythical" Hemi-Cuda convertible. It's just a cheap mustang with a HUGE engine in it. Yeah, Yeah, I know it ran like a scalded cat, and it was driven by Shelby himself, but you need to draw the line somewhere. Sorry for the rant, but I just needed to let that out .

[Pantera1889]

Originally Posted by actvpwr

Harley Cluxton. I missed that. I wondered what happened to him. That guy has had some major racing iron pass though his hands over the years. Is that the Bill Cosby car? There were 2 of them weren't there?

I think the Bill Cosby car was destroyed.

[Mike from Vegas]

Sorry, wanted to catch this early. Mike, are you talking about the one-off Shelby GT500 or the Twin-Supercharged Cobra(s). If it was the Cobra (last post, I thought it was the 427-powered GT500), the Cosby Cobra was destroyed. This one, if it is the Cobra, must be the one owned by Carroll Shelby. It had a twin-supercharged 427 that supposedly produced 800 horsepower. This was linked to an automatic transmission. Supposedly, the car was capable of over 200 mph. Despite all of this, it is still worth nowhere near $5 million. It was just another small car with a big engine. You could probably build a very high quality Superformance with more naturally aspirated power for $200,000. All you need is a hot, maybe stroked, 429 with replica BOSS heads. I am sure that 900 horsepower (who needs that much anyway) naturally aspirated power can be reached using the stated configuration. Wow, that was a long rant. I am sorry again, but these things must be known (I just can't stop using that).

[Bill Bayard]

1967 GT500 Shelby Mustang 427 Shelby “Super Snake” VIN# 67402F4A00544
1 of 1 built. 26,304 miles. Special model built at Shelby American for Mel Burns Ford. Intended to be the first of 50 but no other Super Snake was built due to the retail price of $7,500 and a 427 Cobra could be bought for roughly the same amount. Driven by Carroll Shelby at Goodyear test track in Texas for tire promotion film production. Carroll recorded lap speeds over 150 mph and top speed of 170 mph! The Snake has been carefully detailed and would do great in any show but its uniqueness will always set it apart no matter were it goes. Appeared on the Nashville Network “My Classic Car Video Magazine” 1/21/96. Listed in the Shelby American World Registry-1997 and the subject of so many articles that Jeff Ford (editor of Mustang Monthly) said “that the car has staple holes in its belly button”. Add one more hole due to the article in Mustang Monthly in August of 1997.

[FRPGUY]

The car I liked that Harley had back in 1973 was a GT40 MKIV raced by Andretti and McLaren. I think he said at that time, he either bought it or had it for sale for 40K. At that time, 40K was way out of my price range. He gave me a ride in it. In the garage right beside the MKIV, was Mark Donohue's 512 Sunoco Ferrari. I'd be happy with either one!

[dfreeman95]

I have a little info on the "destroyed" Cosby car to this one that everybody is assuming no longer exists. The car was indeed extremely damaged in a crash that killed it's owner. He was driving along Hwy 1 in California and went off a cliff. The wreckage was taken to a wrecking yard where the superchargers were stolen. A gentleman ( I cannot remember his name ) purchased the 427, rear end and misc suspension bits that were installed in a hot rod that went on to win the Oakland Roadster Show. Now here is where it gets interesting. My friend whom I crewchief for owned a Cobra parts business and purchased the remaining chassis. He sent it back to AC cars and had Brian repair the chassis using as much of the original as possible. The car was then put back together in regular 427SC trim. It is now owned by Sir Anthony Banford. My friend was at BJ this weekend and spoke with Harley. He stated that the supercharger mounts are being re-created and the car will be returned to the "Supersnake" configuration. Should be fairly interesting when this car surfaces.

[Mike Dozier]

Fairly interesting???

After hearing Carroll specifically state on the BJ broadcast that the other
Supercobra is positively destroyed, the emergence of the "resurrected"car
will be worth the price of admission !

And yeah...$ 5 million seems a bit extreme....but as is the case with many of these BJ auction sales...two very wealthy combatants decided to duke it out on national TV....manly pride and all that...

MikeD

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

"Carroll said it was destroyed..."......the same Carroll who "found" original chassis in his warehouse after 30 years? That Carroll? No offense, but I wouldn't hang my millions on his say so!

Still wild to see a five million dollar dick-waving match on TV!

Rick

[Hacker-Pschorr]

Originally Posted by Imaginary '40

Despite all of this, it is still worth nowhere near $5 million. It was just another small car with a big engine.

I really do not understand this mentality on car forums. It’s worth every penny of $5 million. Why? That is what it sold for.
Call it what you what, it’s still a one of a kind, original Shelby Cobra.
Was the $4.4 million for a Daytona Coupe a few years ago not worth it?
How about the $1.4 million for the 427 Coupe that was never actually built by Shelby?

This is a piece of automotive history that will end up in a museum.

Originally Posted by Imaginary '40

You could probably build a very high quality Superformance with more naturally aspirated power for $200,000.

I could have a Picasso recreated as well, it would look just as good to show off to all of my friends. But in the end it’s a worthless copy compared to the original that will never amount to anything.

[Gregg]

Hacker, did you just drop 5 million??

[Mike Dozier]

Actually it was $ 5.5 m...Barrett Jackson gave themselves a raise.
Last year the buyer paid 8 % premium...this year it was 10 % !!
It's good to be King ....

MikeD