Shelby Cobra 289
(1966 - 1969)
Car articles about Shelby Cobra 289 by year
The recipe used by former Le Mans winner Carroll Shelby almost 50 years ago was as simple as it was effective: he took a lightweight, two-seater roadster of the old English school and fitted it with a powerful V8 engine instead of the traditional six-cylinder engine. The result was breathtaking in the truest sense of the word. The Cobra 289 and 427 are among the fastest sports cars ever and the 1000 or so original examples are considered sought-after rarities. Even today, the acceleration capacity is still impressive.
As if the Shelby Cobra 289 wasn't fast enough, Carroll Shelby went one better in 1964 and introduced the Cobra 427 with a seven-liter V8 and over 400 hp. This sports car was actually supposed to dominate the racetracks, but the number of units required for homologation was missed, so most of the cars were sold as "softer" road versions. However, "gentle" was not to be taken too literally, as a test drive with an original Cobra 427 shows.
425 or even 485 hp on just over 1.1 tons, this resulted in a power-to-weight ratio that even newer sports cars from Ferrari to Lamborghini did not achieve even years after the Shelby Cobra 427 was launched. The performance was simply unrivaled, yet the sports car was not a bestseller. Today, the few genuine vehicles are sought after and correspondingly expensive. This report looks back to the 1960s, when an almost unbeatable super sports car was created in the USA that nobody wanted to buy.
With the AC Cobra, Carroll Shelby presented a sports car in 1962 that offered outstanding performance for comparatively little money thanks to the power of a large V8 engine. Racing success soon followed, but not all race tracks allowed the new sports car star to shine equally brightly. On the road and in club racing, however, the Cobra performed magnificently. To this day, it remains one of the most appealing sports cars of all time. This driving report tells the story of the 289 Cobra and portrays the replica of a famous racing Cobra in many pictures, supplemented by video and audio material.
Auctioned vehicles of Shelby Cobra 289
| Brand | Model | Year | Status | Auction name | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby Cobra 289 FIA Replica 1967 Not Sold Oldtimer Galerie Toffen Gstaad (December 29, 2018) |
Cobra 289 FIA Replica | 1967 | Not Sold | Oldtimer Galerie Toffen Gstaad (December 29, 2018) | |
| Shelby 427 Cobra 1967 Not Sold RM/Sotheby's Arizona (January 17, 2019) |
427 Cobra | 1967 | Not Sold | RM/Sotheby's Arizona (January 17, 2019) | |
| Shelby 427 Cobra 1967 Sold Gooding & Co. Amelia Island (March 9, 2018) |
427 Cobra | 1967 | Sold | Gooding & Co. Amelia Island (March 9, 2018) | |
| Shelby Cobra 427 Replica 1967 Sold RM/Sotheby's Auburn Fall 2021 (September 2, 2021) |
Cobra 427 Replica | 1967 | Sold | RM/Sotheby's Auburn Fall 2021 (September 2, 2021) | |
| Shelby 427 Competition Cobra Roadster 1967 Not Sold Mecum Kissimmee (January 7, 2025) |
427 Competition Cobra Roadster | 1967 | Not Sold | Mecum Kissimmee (January 7, 2025) | |
| Shelby 427 Cobra 1967 Sold RM/Sotheby's Sam Pack Collection (November 14, 2014) |
427 Cobra | 1967 | Sold | RM/Sotheby's Sam Pack Collection (November 14, 2014) | |
| Shelby 427 Cobra 1967 Sold Broad Arrow Auctions Jim Tailor Collection (October 14, 2022) |
427 Cobra | 1967 | Sold | Broad Arrow Auctions Jim Tailor Collection (October 14, 2022) | |
| Shelby 427 Cobra Roadster 1967 Sold Mecum Kissimmee (January 6, 2026) |
427 Cobra Roadster | 1967 | Sold | Mecum Kissimmee (January 6, 2026) |
Query all auctioned vehicles of Shelby Cobra 289
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