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The last Shelby Cobra 289 ever sold could auction for near £1,000,000

Rare vintage sports car to be sold at Pebble Beach this week

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The last Shelby Cobra 289 to be sold new is set to be auctioned this week — and could fetch nearly £1,000,000.

The 1965-built Cobra will be sold by Mecum Auction at Pebble Beach, in California, which takes place on August 18 and 19. Its estimated final value is between $1m and $1.2m (£772,200 and £926,640).

Shelby Cobra
(Mecum Auction)

The Anglo-American sports car, built officially between 1962 and ‘67, is based on the British AC Ace. Shelby American would take the base car and fit it with a variety of Ford V8 engines.

Thanks to a high-power, low-weight combination, the Cobra became notorious for its brutal-yet-adrenaline-filled driving experience.

This particular car, the penultimate Cobra built by Shelby, features a 4.7-litre engine, capable of producing 271bhp from its eight-cylinders. It’s paired with a four-speed automatic transmission.

Shelby Cobra
(Mecum Auction)

The car was repainted in 2006 to its current colour, Rouge Iris, which was a factory option at the time of its production, while the interior is finished in black. It retains its original engine, chassis, body and drivetrain, although a Holley ‘LeMans’ carburettor has been added to the car during its lifetime.

It was the final Shelby-produced Cobra to be sold to the public, with the last-built chassis retained by company founder Carroll Shelby. His family still own the vehicle and it hasn’t left them since it was new.

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