The opportunity of a lifetime.
Carroll Shelby’s legacy is a tale of performance and perseverance. He broke the industry mold with a revolutionary approach to both sports car manufacturing and racing. While Shelby’s influence in motorsports was recently portrayed in the blockbuster film Ford v Ferrari, his original factory AC Cobras and Mustangs continue to rise in popularity and value among collectors worldwide. Today, early Shelby Cobra examples in all conditions trade well into the seven-figure mark at auction, dramatically appreciating above its original base price of $5,995 in 1962. The team at Broad Arrow Auctions is pleased to shed light on Shelby America and Carroll’s quest for performance with the upcoming auction of this rare 1962 Shelby 260 Cobra.
Set to cross the block at the 2025 Monterey Jet Center Auction, chassis CSX 2003 is one of the very first production Shelby Cobra examples ever built. Completed in early 1962 at Ed Hugus’ European Cars in Pittsburgh, it was part of the foundational batch of Cobras completed before Shelby had a formal operation in California. Still equipped with its original 260 cu-in “XHP” V8 engine, transmission, and rear end, this car combines the raw character of a prototype with the kind of historical weight that rarely resurfaces. CSX 2003 was tested by Ford engineers, including Henry Ford II, and later displayed during race week at the 12 Hours of Sebring. For the last 36 years, the car has remained with a single Virginia-based owner, who used it not only for weekend drives but even as a daily vehicle during his years as a practicing surgeon.
The Cobra was restored in the 1980s, carefully maintained, and eventually returned to its original white-over-red configuration by its current owner. Shelby himself even signed the glovebox door at a Ford-hosted event in Washington, D.C., highlighting the car’s direct connection to its designer. Unlike later Cobras built under Shelby American in Venice, CSX 2003 was born in a more experimental phase, assembled with help from Hugus at a time when Shelby was still trying to convince Ford to take a chance on his idea.
That early phase of trial, partnership, and ingenuity makes CSX 2003 unbelievably valuable. Its mixture of untouched mechanical components, extensive documentation, and understated presentation puts it in a rare space. For serious collectors, particularly those tuned into the earliest moments of Shelby’s story, this is a chance to buy something that may not come around again for decades. It’s a piece of history that still runs, still drives, and still carries the fingerprints of the people who made the Cobra what it became.
Source: Broad Arrow Auction
