By Khris Bharath – August 15, 2026
Carroll Shelby's Former Cobra Daytona Coupe Sells For $42.9 Million
Day two of Monterey Car Week 2026 auctions produced several seven- and eight-figure results, including one of the most consequential in the history of the collector car market. The 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe (Lot #39), chassis CSX2300, hammered for $39,000,000 at Gooding Christie's Pebble Beach Auctions, with a final price of $42,905,000 including Buyer's Premium. The result exceeded its in-excess-of $25,000,000 pre-sale estimate by $14,000,000, or 56 percent, and was among the 10 headline lots we spotlighted ahead of Monterey Car Week 2026. The result establishes three simultaneous world records: the most expensive American car ever sold at public auction, the most expensive Shelby ever sold at public auction, and the most valuable car ever sold by Gooding Christie's. The previous record for the most expensive American car at public auction was the 1935 Duesenberg Model SSJ, sold at Gooding & Company's Pebble Beach auction in 2018 for $22,000,000. CSX2300 exceeds that figure by $17,000,000. Before the Duesenberg, the record belonged to a 1962 Cobra CSX2000, the first Cobra ever built, which reached $13,750,000 at RM Sotheby's Monterey in 2016. One of only six Cobra Daytona Coupes ever built, CSX2300 was built as part of Shelby American's campaign to defeat Ferrari's 250 GTO in international GT racing. In 1965, the Cobra Daytona Coupe helped Shelby American secure the FIA International Championship for GT Manufacturers in the over-2.0-liter GT class, ending Ferrari's dominance in the category. Following the 1965 FIA GT season, CSX2300 made its way to Japan under Tadashi Sakai of Tokyo, becoming the only Daytona Coupe to continue racing beyond Shelby American's factory program, winning outright at the All Japan Suzuka and Diamond Trophy Fuji events in 1966. Carroll Shelby reacquired it through collector Michael Shoen in 1975, retaining it until 1998 before it passed through further American private collections, reaching its current owner in 2005. The car debuted at the 1964 Tour de France Automobile with Bob Bondurant and Jochen Neerpasch and competed at Daytona, Sebring, the Nürburgring, and Reims during the 1965 FIA GT season. In recent decades it has appeared at the Goodwood Revival, Tour Auto, Modena Cento Ore, and last month at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gooding Christie’s (@goodingandcompany) The aerodynamic body was the work of Peter Brock, Shelby American's first design employee, with coachwork executed by Carrozzeria Grandsport of Modena. CSX2300 is finished in Guardsman Blue with white Le Mans stripes, the competition livery it wore during Shelby American's 1965 FIA GT championship season. Powered by a 289-cubic-inch (4.7-liter) Ford V8 fed by four Weber two-barrel carburetors that puts out approximately 385 horsepower, the coupe was designed specifically to address the aerodynamic limitations of the Cobra roadster on Europe's high-speed circuits, with a top speed in excess of 180 miles per hour. This latest result now firmly places CSX2300 fifth among the 10 most expensive cars ever sold at public auction, displacing the 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Bianco Speciale, chassis 3729GT, which was acquired by renowned Ferrari collector David Lee for $38,500,000 including Buyer's Premium at Mecum Kissimmee in January 2026. As noted on Petrolicious noted at the time, that result reinforced the 250 GTO's position as one of the most resilient values in the collector car market. CSX2300 has now surpassed that particular result by $4,405,000, becoming the most expensive car sold at any auction in 2026. The week is not over, and the final day of auctions brings Gooding, Mecum and RM Sotheby's final session, and with it another lot that could produce one more eight-figure result within 24 hours. Nick Mason's McLaren F1 GTR, the pop-art liveried example from the Pink Floyd drummer's personal collection, is estimated in excess of $35,000,000. After what CSX2300’s landmark Friday result was, where that estimate lands is one to be seen. Images: @goodingandcompany
