Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe sets new auction record
Gooding Christie’s, the official auction house of the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in the USA, has capped this year’s sale event with their highest grossing auction to date. Sales exceeded US$159 million (AU$205M approx.) over the two-day auction, with more than a quarter of that total achieved by one car.
In an auction that included high-end Ferraris and Porsches, as well as Mercedes-Benz, Bugatti, Lamborghini and Maserati, much of the pre-auction attention focused on a 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe.
The Ferrari Fighter
Based on the Shelby Cobra roadster, the Cobra Daytona Coupe was built by Shelby American for the express purpose of beating Ferrari’s 250 GTO in the FIA World Sportscar Championship; more specifically the International Championship for GT Manufacturers.
Designed by Pete Brock, with engineering by Shelby American and coachwork by Carrozzeria Gransport in Italy, the Daytona Coupe was powered by a Ford 289 V8, matched to a four-speed manual transmission, with competition-spec suspension and brakes.
A total of six Daytona Coupes were produced, with the car auctioned by Gooding Christie’s being the third built - #CSX2300.
It made its global debut at the 1964 Tour de France Automobile with American Bob Bondurant and German Jochen Neerpasch at the wheel.
In the 1964 GT season, Shelby finished second behind Ferrari, but in 1965, CSX2300 would be a key participant in Shelby American’s historic FIA GT championship win. Additional race starts for CSX2300 at Daytona and Sebring, were followed by important endurance events at Nürburgring and Reims.
Lost and Found
When Shelby American’s resources were directed to Ford’s GT40 program, the Daytona Coupes were no longer a priority, but they continued to race. CSX2300 was campaigned by private owners in Japan into the late 1960s, then faded into obscurity before it was rediscovered by historian Michael L. Shoen, who brokered the sale of the car to none other than Carroll Shelby. Of the six Daytona Coupes built, CSX2300 was the only one to be personally owned by Shelby.
In Shelby’s possession from 1975 to 1998, the car was comprehensively restored to its 1965 spec, then displayed and paraded at various events, including the Cobra 30th Reunion and Monterey Historic Races in California. After Shelby sold CSX2300, a second full restoration commenced in 2000 and was completed in 2003.
CSX2300 has featured at events on both sides of the Atlantic since, including the Monterey Historics, Goodwood Revival and this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Auction Record
When CSX2300 was auctioned in 2000, it went for US$4.4 million. Reflecting the skyrocketing values of significant post-war competition cars in recent years, a pre-auction estimate of US$25+ million was attached to CSX2300 ahead of the Gooding Christie’s sale in August. Even this proved to be conservative, as the car sold for US$42.9 million (AU$55.25M approx.). This not only smashed the record for a Shelby car of any type, it also set a new record for any American car sold at auction. Coincidentally, the previous record for an American car was set by Gooding at Pebble Beach in 2018 with the ex-Gary Cooper 1935 Duesenberg SSJ, which sold for $22 million.
Compared to last year’s Gooding Christie’s sale at Pebble Beach, this year’s auction saw sales increase by 24 per cent, with 158 lots sold and a 94 per cent clearance rate.
Our continued trajectory of significant growth, with a solid increase each year in total sales, is one to be celebrated,” said Gooding Christie’s President, David Gooding. “This year, we saw not only our strongest auction ever – with our highest grossing sales total since inception – but also the single most valuable car we’ve ever sold on the auction block.
“The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe became the most valuable American car of all time by a 95 per cent increase over the previous record.”
Full results and further details from this auction can be found at: goodingco.com
