$5.9 Million 1965 Shelby 427 Cobra Cold Start, Revs, Idle (CSX3178)
Aluminum head 427 side oiler engine with dual 4-barrel carburetors.
As per the RM Sotheby's auction listing, in its previous configuration:
"As per the Shelby American World Registry, CSX 3178 was shipped to Shelby American in Los Angeles in Grey Primer with a black interior and a 428-cubic inch V-8 in late 1965. The work order for the car was opened on 7 January, after the new year, and closed two months later before the car was billed to Horn-Williams Ford in Texas. In fact, however, the only known owner of the car is Carroll Shelby, in whose care it remained his entire life. Originally fitted with an automatic transmission, he enjoyed the car quite regularly, undoubtedly driving it with spirit and with the talent and speed one might expect from a former Le Mans 24-hour winner!
By 1972, Shelby commissioned a restoration from highly respected Cobra expert Mike McCluskey and, at that time, the car was finished in Guardsman Blue with a gold stripe around the nose. Upon Shelby’s direction, McCluskey also installed the custom rollbar, which the car still carries today.
According to Gary Patterson, Vice President at Shelby, a more recent restoration was carried out in house by none other than the Shelby team in the early 2000s. Shelby Production Supervisor at the time Tom Di’Antonio, since retired, spearheaded the project, during which the car was assembled with a single four-barrel carburetor as opposed to the dual four-barrels previously on the car. The aim of the project was to retain as much of the original equipment as possible and simply freshen the car’s presentation with considerable engine work, rebuilding of the transmission, reupholstering the interior, and refinishing the car in bright red. Carroll Shelby enjoyed the rollbar, so this was left in place and the car retained those iconic Kelsey-Hayes Sunburst-style wheels.
After completion of the restoration, the car was put on display at Shelby’s headquarters, primarily in Las Vegas, where it has been maintained by expert Shelby staff ever since.
Not a car for the faint of heart, the 427 Cobra’s performance still compares to many performance cars built today. The 427 solidified the Cobra’s place in American car culture, both on the road and on the track, and cemented the Shelby American legacy. It is no wonder, then, that Carroll Shelby kept his own example for the rest of his life, alongside CSX 2000, and that it is offered alongside that car here today in Monterey. It bears the indelible fingerprints of the man who created, built, and drove it, and it will remain for eternity “Carroll Shelby’s 427 Cobra.” "
As per the Mecum Auctions listing, in its current configuration:
"One of the crown jewels of Carroll Shelby’s personal collection, this 1965 Shelby 427 Cobra, CSX3178, was owned by Carroll Shelby from the day it was assembled in March 1966 until his passing in May 2012. One of just five 427 Cobras finished in gorgeous Charcoal Gray, the car arrived at Shelby’s LAX facility with a black interior and without an engine and transmission, like all Cobras did. The Shelby American work order specifying “Build 427 Street Cobra CSX3178” was opened on January 7, 1966, and closed on March 3, when it was shipped to Carroll Shelby’s Dallas home sporting a 427 with dual quads and a 4-speed Toploader transmission.
In 1972, Carroll Shelby’s friend and renowned Cobra specialist Mike McCluskey restored CSX3178, repainting it in Guardsman Blue with a gold nose. At some point in CSX3178’s life, Carroll Shelby felt he needed more horsepower and installed an aluminum-head 427 side-oiler engine with an automatic transmission. In 2002, the home crew at Shelby American in Las Vegas, Nevada, repainted Carroll Shelby’s famous Cobra in red. In 2016, the car was purchased from Carroll Shelby’s estate by the consigner, at which time it became the subject of a complete concours restoration by renowned Cobra restorers Legendary Motorcar Company, which returned it to its original Charcoal paint color and its original 427 configuration with a 4-speed.
Carroll Shelby’s lifelong personal 427 Cobra is the big brother of CSX2000, the original small-block Cobra. CSX2000 recently sold for almost $14 million. CSX3178 occupies a hallowed place in Cobra history, and it is the only 427 Cobra Carroll Shelby owned from new until his passing. Imagine sitting in the seat that Carroll Shelby sat in for all those years and all of the conversations he had with his famous passengers (friends and racers)—if only this car could talk. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime chance to own Carroll Shelby’s lifelong personal 427 Cobra, and CSX3178 occupies a hallowed place in Cobra history as perhaps the most significant of all."
