1965 Shelby Automobiles CSX4000 Cobra 427

£ 195 000

VEHICLE DESCRIPTION

The Shelby Cobra remains an instantly recognisable performance icon, and 30 years after his creation had first taken the motoring world by storm, Carroll Shelby decided to build a fresh batch of cars.

Produced from the 1990s into the 2000s at a new factory in Las Vegas, these 4000-series Cobras were genuine cars with a ‘CSX’ chassis-number prefix and official documentation from Shelby American, and were accepted into the Shelby Registry. They were initially offered with the 427 cubic-inch engine and glassfibre bodywork, although owners had the option of specifying aluminium at an extra cost.

These Cobras were supplied as kits that could be finished by the supplying dealer, and such was the success of the 427 that Shelby American went on to also build a 289-engined version.

A 2018 letter of authenticity from the company confirms that the Cobra being offered for sale here – chassis number CSX4502 – was completed as a component vehicle on 9 September 2004. It was then fitted with a 427 cubic-inch, side-oiler Ford V8 engine that produces more than 400bhp and is mated to a four-speed ‘toploader’ gearbox.

The chassis, meanwhile, features independent suspension all round, rack-and-pinion steering, Baer brakes and 15-inch Halibrand pin-drive wheels.

While most 4000-series Cobras had bodies made in glassfibre or aluminium, this is the second of only 10 that were bodied in carbon fibre. Painted in Guardsman Blue with Wimbledon White racing stripes, and with a side-exit exhaust, it has immense presence even when it’s stationary.

CSX4502 was first registered in the UK during 2018, having been imported from Florida. In 2021, it received a new flywheel, clutch and bellhousing, and has been used only sparingly throughout its life. As of the beginning of 2026, this Shelby CSX4000 has received a thorough overhaul from marque specialists Redline Engineering, including a new fuel tank, fuel system and engine service. Presented in exceptional condition, this charismatic and exciting car boasts a thunderous soundtrack from its big V8, and represents a rare and collectable example of the 4000-series Cobra.

The story of the Cobra has long since passed into automotive legend. Former racer Carroll Shelby – winner of the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours for Aston Martin – approached AC with the idea of dropping Ford’s latest V8 engine into the British marque’s aging Ace chassis. It was a simple but effective idea, and the Cobra became a performance benchmark.

After a short run of cars fitted with 260 cubic-inch engines, the 289 model was introduced. The V8 produced 270bhp and 312 lb/ft of torque when running on a single four-barrel Holley carburettor, and drove through a Borg-Warner T10 manual gearbox and a limited-slip Salisbury differential.

The tubular chassis featured independent suspension all round with lower wishbones and upper transverse leaf springs, while aluminium bodywork gave the Cobra a superb power-to-weight ratio. Road & Track magazine achieved a quarter-mile time of 13.8 seconds at 113mph when it tested a 289 model.

Sports Car Graphic described it as being ‘perhaps the last of the breed of big, hairy, fast, wind-in-the-race roadsters… In short, the Cobra is a sports car, one of the best in the world, and doesn’t pretend to be anything else.’

Developments such as all-round disc brakes and rack-and-pinion steering came thick and fast, and the Cobra was immediately successful in domestic US racing. In 1965, Shelby achieved his ultimate goal when his Anglo-American hybrid beat Ferrari in the International Championship for GT Manufacturers.

A 427 cubic-inch model had been developed through 1964 and featured a redesigned chassis with larger main tubes that were positioned further apart to allow for the bigger engine. The leaf-spring suspension was replaced with a coil-spring set-up, and flared wheelarches were needed in order to accommodate the vast Halibrand wheels and Goodyear tyres. Girling disc brakes were fitted all round.

The 427 Cobra offered truly breath-taking performance. Car and Driver magazine reported that it would go from 0-100-0mph in only 14.5 seconds, and it blasted through the quarter-mile in 12.2 seconds.

With Shelby having grown ever closer to Ford, and increasingly busy with other projects, the final batch of cars was invoiced by AC in December 1966 and Cobra production came to an end.