HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

Having languished in a museum for 35 years, this Shelby 427 Competition Cobra has a special history that makes it one of one. Now it's come roaring back to life

- Robert Coucher

Five hundred and twenty three horsepower! In a car weighing a tonne. That indicates intent. This would be attention-grabbing today, but imagine the impact of all that power hitting the tarmac in 1965. This Shelby 427 Cobra is that car. It is believed to be the only one in existence, making it the rarest and the fastest Cobra of all time.

Very different to ‘ordinary’ Cobras, if there’s such a thing, this is one of only 19 Competition Cobras built by Carroll Shelby to go racing. More than that, it’s one of four produced with dry-sump lubrication and, of that hallowed quartet, chassis number CSX3019 is the sole survivor. Exclusively, Octane was invited to drive CSX3019 at Goodwood Circuit following a nut-and-bolt restoration in Britain and America – as things should be. But allow me a moment to settle after my thunderous experience behind the wheel to look at what makes this Shelby 427 Competition Cobra the Cobra.

Born in Texas in 1923, Carroll Shelby was always fascinated with speed, both on the ground and in the air. As well as being an Air Corps pilot and chicken farmer, he became a racing driver at the age of 29 and, after racing in America, joined Aston Martin in Europe, for which team he won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Roy Salvadori in 1959.

He retired from racing in 1960 for health reasons, but the ever-competitive and entrepreneurial Shelby realised that America needed ‘limited production sports cars’, the likes of which he’d seen (and driven against) on Europe’s circuits. He thought: ‘America is missing a bet, a big bet… the design and production of an all-purpose, all-American sports car or grand touring car that you could drive to the market and also race on the weekend.’