The partnership between Carroll Shelby and Ford Motor Company was started by the Shelby Cobra and forever changed the automotive industry. This storied partnership gave birth to some of the most iconic and successful American sports cars, such as the Ford GT40, Mustang GT350R, Shelby Daytona Coupe, and many special Cobras like the Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake along the way.
Fittingly nicknamed “The Cobra to end all Cobras”, the Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake is the most powerful and most special factory-built Cobra of them all. Driven by Carroll Shelby himself, the Super Snake is the direct result of his competitive personality and ambition to beat Ferrari, both on and off the track.
Bigger was always the better for Carroll Shelby. In 1964, he wanted to put a big block 427 FE engine under the hood of the Cobra for the upcoming 1965 racing season. A new chassis was developed to make the necessary changes to support the power of the new engine. But this task proved to be very hard. Shelby American needed 100 cars for homologation, but they had built only 53 cars by the time of the homologation deadline. Some of these cars were detuned and modified for street use and sold as Semi-Competition cars. 23 of them were kept as competition models and sent to Europe. When they returned, the CSX 3015 and CSX 3303 were specially modified to become the Super Snake.
Let’s take a closer look at the rarest and most powerful original Shelby Cobra of all time and refresh our memories.
8 It’s The Rarest Cobra
The original Shelby Cobras are rare. Shelby American assembled just 998 cars during seven years of production. But the 427 Super Snake is the rarest. Only two were made: One for Carroll Shelby, and one for his friend, Bill Cosby. Bill Cosby had the CSX 3303, for a very short time before returning it back. He found the Super Snake’s power and handling very frightening.
Shelby American sold the car to a dealer, a gentleman named Tony Maxey bought it, but he was fatally injured when his throttle got stuck, and he rolled out of a cliff and into the Pacific. The wreckage was brought to the U.K. for restoration and the CSX 3303 is now a part of a private collection. Carroll Shelby’s CSX 3015 is in mint condition to this day and still has the original aluminum body, engine block, and rear end.
7 Built to Hunt Ferraris on the Street
Carroll Shelby loved to travel, and he really loved driving his Cobra. But he wasn’t a fan of being slower than other people. Especially if it was a Ferrari. Legend has it, one day Shelby and his lawyer and friend Stan Mullin went for a drive. Mullin was driving a Ferrari, which was faster than Carroll Shelby’s Cobra. Shelby hated the sight of the Ferrari’s tail lights and when he returned to the Shelby American, he ordered the Shelby Cobra Super Snake to be built.
The resulting car was nothing short of extraordinary, after the racetracks, Carroll Shelby took the battle to the streets and was victorious, again.
6 It was the Fastest Production Car
The Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake was quick off the line, and quick all around. The chassis was aluminum and very lightweight. The whole car weighs about 2,500 pounds and thanks to its two Paxton superchargers, the Super Snake’s 427 FE produced 800 horsepower and 462 ft-lbs of torque.
The car could do 0-60 in about 3 seconds. It was incredibly quick back then, and it still is very impressive today. While the official top speed was 165 mph, which was faster than anything on the road at the time. But more impressively, according to a story told by Carroll Shelby, he had Nevada Police Chief in the passenger seat when he did 190 mph!
5 It was a Handful to Drive
The Shelby Cobra was an interesting beast. The car's lightweight chassis was just barely capable to withstand the enormous power of its engine. Also, the chassis was old, so there was very little in the way of aerodynamics. Naturally, the Shelby Cobra is dependent on its mechanical grip to keep it on the road, but one needs to be a very skilled driver to drive the car safely.
According to the select individuals who had the honor to drive it, the Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake was even harder to control. The car has almost twice the horsepower of a regular 427, thanks to its two superchargers. The fact that the only remaining Super Snake was Le Mans-winning Carroll Shelby’s own car is proof of their statement.
Related: 10 Most Legendary Cars Built By Carroll Shelby
4 It was "The Cobra to End All Cobras"
Carroll Shelby was a very busy man between 1962 and 1969. He finally achieved his dream to build his own sports car. Ford-powered Cobras were dominating the racetracks and in return, drawing enthusiasts to the Ford dealers and Shelby American. In 1965, the Daytona Coupe won the GT III class and made Shelby American the only team to win the World Sports Cars Championship. Also, Carroll Shelby and his team made the Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R and took over Ford's pride and joy, the GT40 project to beat Ferrari's racing domination.
While all this was going on, Shelby American just finished developing the Cobra Mark III chassis to fit the 427 big block engine. They made 3 generations of Cobras in 7 years of production and stopped development after the 427 Super Snake. It was a fitting goodbye to one of the most iconic American sports cars of all time.
3 It was the Most Expensive American Vehicle
Carroll Shelby’s Super Snake, the CSX 3015, changed hands multiple times. Shelby sold it to songwriter Jimmy Webb in 1970. 20 years later, the IRS seized and auctioned off the car. The winning bid was $375,000, and we never heard about the car again until 2007.
In 2007, the car got auctioned at Barrett-Jackson with Carroll Shelby present. Ron Pratte paid 5.5 million dollars for the car, making it the most expensive American vehicle, at the time.
2 Still has the Original Parts
CSX 3015 was converted from a competition 427. When Ron Pratte got the car, he had another competition 427, CSX 3017, for evaluation and confirmed that the Super Snake still has the original engine block, body, brake calipers, and side pipes. The car even had the original Guardsman Blue paint hiding under the layers of black and Viking Blue paint. According to the odometer, the car had done 17,000 miles.
Pratte was so impressed that he didn’t restore the car. Instead, he simply refreshed it. In 2015, He sold the car at Barrett-Jackson for 5.1 million dollars.
1 1966 Shelby Cobra Super Snake is Currently on Sale
Carroll Shelby’s personal Super Snake is going to be auctioned at 2021 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale. The event will be held between March 20th to 27th. Ever since the Ford v. Ferrari movie, Shelby prices have gone up considerably. So, there’s a chance that it can reclaim its title as the most expensive American vehicle.
Ford’s CEO, Jim Farley said “The 1966 Shelby Cobra Super Snake is the Holy Grail of high performance, maybe forbidden fruit as it’s the only one.” The Super Snake is an invaluable part of automotive history and one of the most important cars ever produced. So, whatever the price is, it will be worth every last cent.