Having reached the pinnacle of international motorsport as a Le Mans-winning co-driver for Aston Martin in 1959, Texan Carroll Shelby soon achieved even greater fame as a constructor with his potent AC Ace-derived, Ford V-8-powered Cobra. The product of a long and challenging early road, the Cobra came about when Britain’s AC, the maker of the renowned Ace, learned of engine supplier Bristol’s pending cancellation of its excellent BMW 328-derived 2.0L engine. Lightweight and well-proven with countless victories already to its credit, the Ace could, Shelby thought, be even better with American V-8 power. In September 1961, Shelby wrote Charles Hurlock of AC Cars proposing a combination based on the Ace; Hurlock was interested if a suitable V-8 was available. When Hot Rod Magazine Editor Ray Brock told Shelby of Ford’s new lightweight small-block V-8, Shelby had an early 221 CI unit stuffed into a stock Ace, with the compact Ford V-8 weighing little more than the Bristol it replaced. When the 221 grew to 260 CI for the Falcon Sprint, Ford Engineer Dave Evans shipped a pair of the new engines to Shelby, who immediately air-freighted them to AC. Shelby then flew to England to test-drive the new car he dubbed the “Cobra” on February 1, 1962. Beginning from modest facilities in Venice, California, in August 1962, Shelby American had the press flog his first car, CSX2000, in polished aluminum and a variety of paint colors. Cobra production commenced with the leaf-spring chassis supplied by AC. According to data supplied by the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC), Shelby American first built 75 Cobras with Ford 260 CI V-8 engines, followed by 655 more powered by the larger-displacement 289 CI High-Performance solid-lifter unit, including 453 street models. Numbered CSX2516 and documented in the “Shelby American World Registry,” this 1965 Shelby 289 Cobra was originally finished in Vineyard Green with black upholstery, invoiced to Shelby American on July 21, 1964, and shipped to Los Angeles on July 30 aboard the SS Dongedyk. On October 19, 1964, it was invoiced to Harr Ford Inc. in Worcester, Massachusetts, with a base price of $5,195 plus the “Class A” accessory package including WSW tires, five chrome wheels, antifreeze and transportation, bringing the Cobra’s total price to $5,929.05. Delivery of the Cobra to Harr Ford was completed via Shelby American truck. The Cobra’s known owners include Biff Bering and David Greene of Houston, Texas, in the early 1970s, with CSX2516 acquired from the latter in 1975 by Virgil Nelson of Iowa. Nelson retained ownership for the next 31 years before selling it in 2006 to Richard Cohen of Del Ray, Florida, through whom it passed that year to Rick Grant of Dayton, Ohio. Grant commissioned a restoration, with the Cobra refinished in red with a black interior compartment. Powered by a proper HiPo 289 CI V-8 engine paired with a 4-speed manual transmission and riding on a set of chrome knock-off wire wheels plus a mounted spare inside the trunk, CSX2516 has been part of the Rick Grant collection since 2006 and was displayed at the 2011 Dayton Concours d’Elegance. Documents include a copy of the prior Iowa title issued to Virgil Nelson and dated 1979. Pure sports car royalty, this leaf-sprung, 289-powered Shelby Cobra represents the spearhead of Ford Motor Company’s famed “Total Performance” corporate racing program and the genesis of Shelby American.
