Many people who know about the 1966 Shelby Cobra learned it from the movie "Gone in Sixty Seconds," about a man, played by Nicolas Cage, who had to steal several collector cars in a 24 hour period, or be killed by a ruthless gangster. But a real 1966 Shelby Cobra was sold a few years ago for more than $5 million, which was a record price for an American car sold at an auction.
The 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake is an 800 horsepower sports car, made by Carroll Shelby himself. He built them for his own personal use, and there were only two of them created. Shelby was present when the car was sold and said at the time that he built the car because he wanted the fastest, meanest car on the road. The 1966 Shelby is said to still be the fastest street legal car available, reportedly able to do 0-60 in just 3 seconds. The Shelby was a modified race car. In addition to its 800 horsepower, V8 engine, it had a 3 speed automatic transmission, instead of a manual transmission.
Shelby built other Cobras from 1962-1968, combining Ford V8 engines with lightweight British AC Ace bodies. This combination created some of the most sought after American cars ever produced. The Shelby Super Snake also sported two Paxton superchargers in the top of the line 427 cubic inch V8 which literally doubled the horsepower of a production 427 Cobra. These Cobra competition styled roadsters were made street legal by adding mufflers, bumpers and a couple of other safety items to the package.
The other Super Snake was originally sold to comedian Bill Cosby, who drove it once and then returned the car saying it was simply too fast. Cosby's Super Snake was eventually wrecked by another driver, who died in the mishap. The Shelby was totaled leaving the one sold at an auction as the only Super Snake on the planet. Experts consider the 1966 Shelby Cobra to be the epitome of high performance muscle cars.
Shelby started building Cobras in 1961 starting with the lightweight British Ace roadster and marrying it to Ford's 260-cid V8. He followed up with a stronger 289 tuning racing Cobras up to 380 hp. By 1965, Carroll Shelby had manufactured 655 small block Cobras, when he introduced a new version of the auto.
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