Carroll Shelby built just 23 examples of the 427 Cobra Competition, and this beautiful black example, chassis no. CSX 3010, is one of them.
The company that currently owns it was looking for a place to safely store it for a couple of days during the recent West Coast fires, and that’s how it ended up in Jay Leno’s cave of wonders.
You don’t see Leno impressed by a car very often, but this is one of these moments. The sheer volume of replicas and continuation models may have put a dent in the Cobra’s image, but when you come across a genuine 1965 example, you just enjoy it.
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Under the bonnet lives Ford’s monster of an engine, the famous 427ci (7.0-liter) FE V8 which was said to produce close to 480 HP in Competition spec as is the case here. Factor in a weight of around 2,300 lbs (1,043 kg) and you get an idea of how crazy this little two-seater must be to drive, even today.
This Cobra also comes with a pretty thick history file, as it was raced with great success before its motorsport career came to an end thanks to an accident in 1970. Bringing it back on the road required a new body, among other things, but this is still a genuine Cobra with the most powerful bite, which is why it’s currently valued at around $2.5 million.