Shelby Cobra parked in 1974 worth up to $1.4 million
Shelby Cobra parked in 1974 worth up to $1.4 million
North Carolina author and well-respected automotive enthusiast Tom Cotter struck a nerve with his seminal book, The Cobra In The Barn. Cotters website, http://www.cobrainthebarn.com/ chronicles similar books on barn-find Hemis, Harleys, Corvettes and even Vincents.
In the early 2000s, Cotter bought his own Cobra from Jacques Frenchy Harguindeguy, a Northern California enthusiast who won Pebble Beach Best of Show honors in 2000 for an amazing 1937 Delahaye that he restored.
Cotters Cobra was an original, low-mile 289 model, and I personally took him to Frenchys house in Walnut Creek to pick it up. In return, I drove the Cobra, which Cotter still has. It was, like all Cobras, a beast to drive fast, but primitive and it was a sure way to make your heart race and your pulse rise.
But I digress.
Cotter unearthed enough barn-find Cobras to fill an entire book, but they are still comparatively rare animals. So when a real, honest-to-God barn-find Cobra comes up for sale, it draws a lot of attention.
In its upcoming Scottsdale auction, Gooding & Co. will sell a 1964 Shelby 289 Cobra at no reserve, meaning top bid gets it no matter what the final hammer price is.
This Cobra, Chassis No. CSX2436, has been owned by Sy Allen of West Windsor, Vermont , since 1974 and is listed in theSAAC World Registry of Cobras & GT40s, 4th Edition on pages 47 and 62.
After Allen bought the car in 1974, he moved to Vermont, and the Cobra was placed on jacks and stored with the top up inside of Allens heated barn/workshop where it remained secluded and out of sight for 40 years, according to the catalog description.
Originally, the Cobra sold for $5,812.31 new, real money back in 1964. Then again, thats a mere pittance compared with the upcoming pre-auction estimate of $1.1 million to $1.4 million.
Standing proudly as a late-production 289 Cobra with rack and pinion steering and desirable factory upgrades, CSX 2436 is simply irreplaceable as one of precious few Cobras remaining in such wonderfully preserved condition today, reads the Gooding catalog description.
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What a great looking car!!r