Lot S154 1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra CSX3016, 1966 Sebring Class Winner for sale.

DESCRIPTION

After Cobra racer Tom Payne injured himself in a garage accident, his friend, Ferrari driver Bob Grossman, offered to drive Payne’s Cobra at the 1965 Nassau Trophy Races and wound up winning his class. Upon returning home Grossman immediately sold his Ferrari 250LM and ordered a production Competition Cobra from Shelby, one of only 23 of a total of 343 427 Cobras eventually built. CSX3016 was shipped to Grossman’s Foreign Car City in West Nyack, New York on February 28, 1966. Grossman entered the car as number 6 in the 12 Hours of Sebring, painted Silver Mink with Red, White and Blue stripes, Halibrand wheels, Black roll bar and Black side exhaust. With Grossman and Ed Lowther sharing driving duties, the car finished 10th overall and 1st in class, Production Sports Cars over 5.0 Litres. During the remainder of 1966 Grossman raced the car at such Northeast tracks as Cumberland, Maryland; Bridgehampton, New York; Danville, Virginia and Lime Rock, Connecticut. The car set a new lap record at Watkins Glen, New York, where it crashed in the rain and retired. It passed through different owners over several years, at one point even being temporarily mistitled as 3106 before corrected, and was eventually purchased by collector and Cobra expert Lynn Park, who hired Cobra expert Mike McCluskey of Torrance, California to restore it at a cost of almost $22,000. Finished in Bright Blue with White stripes, Black roll bar and White side exhaust, it competed in vintage racing from 1995 and 2002 before sold to Anthony Boosalis of La Canada, California in 2005.

More recently, CSX3016 was purchased by a private collector, who commissioned respected H.R.E. Motorcars, Inc. of Freeport, New York to perform a major inspection and to prepare it for the Greenwich Concours. It was subsequently returned to H.R.E. for the next phase of the proposed work. This included dismantling the exterior and interior and parts of the chassis and engine bay, and repairing and refinishing the body in its original colors. H.R.E. then assembled the car with refurbished parts, then fully detailed it with the correct decals, wheels and tires. The work is completely documented by noted Cobra authority and H.R.E. President William H. Andrews, who confirms the authenticity of CSX3016 as the Bob Grossman Sebring Cobra in a letter that describes the restoration and specifically differentiates it from other Cobras. Now finished in its original livery as raced by Grossman, it is a showcase factory Competition Cobra ready for both show and competition.

HIGHLIGHTS

- 1965 Shelby Cobra CSX3016
- 1 of 23 factory competition Cobras
- Class winner 1966 12 Hours of Sebring
- Driven by Bob Grossman
- Broke track record at Watkins Glen in 1966
- Raced at Lime Rock and Bridgehampton, NY
- Restoration done by Shelby experts Mike McCluskey and Billy Andrews
- Painted in Original Sebring winning colors
- CSX listed in both Shelby Registry and Shelby American Guide 1st edition, pg. 47

Source:Mecum.com