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Legendary Race Cars  








1964 Shelby 289 Competition Cobra

                                                           
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Sold For $1,895,000 on September 8, 2014 in London

Est. 400 bhp, 289 cu. in. Hi-Po Ford V-8 engine with four Weber 48 IDM carburettors, four-speed BorgWarner T-10 manual transmission, four-wheel independent suspension with A-arms, transverse leaf springs, and tubular shock absorbers, and four-wheel hydraulic disc brakes. Wheelbase: 2,286 mm

Campaigned by “Gentleman” Tom Payne in 1964 and 1965
A highly desirable Cobra “Team Specification” roadster
Superb restoration of a very original car by Shelby authority Bill Murray
Formerly in the Shelby American Collection for 25 years
Ideal for historic racing events, such as the Goodwood Revival and Le Mans Classic

Chassis CSX 2430, the Cobra presented here, is the very same one that was delivered to Tom Payne, and it is also the exceedingly rare factory team-specification roadster that was prepared by Shelby and raced as a factory-sponsored entry. On 18 June 1964, Jacques Passino, the vice president of Ford’s Special Vehicle Division, approved a work order for one “Competition Cobra for Tom Payne”, which highlighted the sizable price of $9,250 and the order to “color it RED”. With Ford’s headquarters at Dearborn merely half an hour away, Payne undoubtedly enjoyed a close relationship with its executives, and his success behind the wheel would surely be a win-win for both sides, particularly with Ford’s “Total Performance” objective of “winning on Sunday and selling on Monday”.

Shelby American in Riverside began work on the car, building it into a factory-specification competition car and mirroring the equipment of the team cars with a bonnet scoop, a chrome roll bar, 6½-inch Halibrand front wheels (8½-inch at the rear), flared wings, Koni shocks, front and rear sway bars, competition brakes all around, quick-jack points, side pipes, dual long-range fuel tanks, a Monza snap-open fuel cap, a racing seat, a Sun tachometer, a fuel-pressure gauge, a differential cooler, an engine oil cooler, an electric Stewart-Warner fuel pump, and an aluminium Harrison header tank. Of course, the soul of the roadster was a full race-specification 289 V-8 that had Weber carburettors and 12:1 compression, which could deliver about 400 brake horsepower