A Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe that helped win the 1965 FIA GT championship just claimed another title as the most valuable American car ever sold.
Chassis CSX2300 was the third of the six cars like it that were built by Shelby in California in 1964 to go hunting Ferrari 250 GTOs wering a body constructed down the road from its Italian rival at Carrozzeria Grandsport in Modena.
The Viking Blue car debuted at the 1964 Tour de France Automobile, driven by Bob Bondurant and Jochen Neerpasch. It won the first two stages of the event before mechanical issues, including a broken crankshaft, ended its race while running at Le Mans.
It was repainted Guardsman Blue for 1965 and driven by Allen Grant, with additional drivers including Ed Leslie, Jo Schlesser, André Simon, Jack Sears, and John Whitmore across the season. It competed at Daytona, Sebring, the Nürburgring 1000 Kilometers, and the 12 Hours of Reims. At Reims, a connecting rod failure was repaired mid-race, and the car finished 9th overall and 2nd in class, which was the result that secured the 1965 FIA GT over 2,000cc world manufacturer’s championship for Shelby American.
After the 1965 season, the car was sold through Shelby American’s 1966 “Garage Sale” and eventually exported to Japan, where it raced through the late 1960s under multiple owners before being converted into a street-legal road car.
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In 1975, Shelby historian Michael Shoen located the car and helped broker its sale to Carroll Shelby, making CSX2300 the only Daytona Coupe Shelby personally owned. It was restored to 1965 specification and has since undergone a second restoration in 2003. The car continues to participate in historic motoring events, including the Goodwood Revival and the Tour Auto.
It crossed the block at the Gooding Christie’s auction in Pebble Beach with a $25 million estimated sale price, but ended up going for a $39 million bid that became $42,905,000 after fees were applied and vaulted it past the previous $22 million record set by the sale of a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ in 2018.
It also puts it third on the overall list of auction sales not tied to a charity, behind two Ferrari GTOs that were sold for $51,705,000 and $48,405,000 in recent years. The all-time record for the private sale of a car is understood to be $70 million for another Ferrari GTO.
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