When Jay Leno gets access to one of only twenty-three Shelby Cobra 427 Competition cars ever made, you stop and enjoy the show. Jay is a national treasure in the eyes of automotive enthusiasts because of his steadfast stewardship of so many of the most historic cars ever created, and today's video release proves that even more. Due to the recent fires in California, this incredibly rare Shelby Cobra valued at $2.5 million needed a safe shelter and Jay opened his doors to this super snake.
This Cobra Is All Shelby
A Cobra this rare is incredibly hard to come by. Jay makes mention of the many continuation cars built by Superformance as well as the other replicas that are still in production today. While Leno believes many of these later tribute cars to be of excellent quality, even perhaps better than the originals, none of them behave the same as the real deal. Citing the smells, sounds, and raw feeling of this real Cobra, Jay points out how it feels better than any of those replicas he's piloted. This particular car adds to the legend by being a true race winner too.
Competition Was More Than Just A Badge Back In 1965
This original car speaks to the dedication that Carroll Shelby had to ensure his car was truly capable of winning races. This specific example has won multiple races over its decades of life. The car is lighter than the original car, which was pretty light to begin with.
The 620 horsepower 427 V8 under the hood is called the side-oiler because it uses a special port to keep the crankshaft constantly lubricated since Competition models were tuned to be at or above 5,000 rpm for the majority of their driving life. The single barrel carb provides more than enough fuel to keep the car happy but the racecar DNA shows through when driving it in traffic.
At low speeds or idle, this snake shakes and rattles so much you'd think it was named after the wrong type of serpent. Ultimately, the feeling of driving a car that's so sincerely visceral and uninsulated is something that Jay continues to go on and on about and we can understand why.
This Video Highlights The Importance Of Appreciating Classics
Jay makes mention of how the Cobra Competition was originally sold for somewhere around $8,000 or $9,000 and a little research tells us that he's in the ballpark. This example sold for a mere $9,600 in 1965 and is now worth between $3 to 4 million. That reminds us of how hard it can be to see the value in something before it's left production.
When originally sold, the Cobra Competition was considered a hard sell as it was very expensive, hard to justify, and hard to drive fast. Today, we look back on it and on its pilot Jay, as two classics that we're happy to have paired up.
Sources: Jay Leno