Production of the MK3 AC Cobra 427 only lasted between 1965 and 1967. But this was one of the most beautiful and desirable roadsters ever made, and the void left by its departure opened up the Cobra replica market.
Shelby didn’t like the fact that other people were making money off his name, plus some of the replicas were cheap imitations of an original 427. So the so-called Continuation Cars were created, officially authorized copies of the AC-built Cobra series.
The CSX4000 series tried to pick up where the original left off in the 1960s, with series number CSX3360. Their history is quite complicated and filled with scandal. And even though they’re technically replicas, Continuation Shelby Cobras can be worth a lot of money.
The latest episode of The Appraiser from Hagerty tries to shed further light on the CSX4000 and what it’s worth today. As it just so happens, presenter Colin Comer is an expert in Shelby authentication, so we were curious to know what he thinks a great one is worth.
While Continuations are still being made, the 4000-series has ended; they’re not making any more. The last example was in 2009, CSX4999. An all-time record price was set in April at the 2022 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction, but that was a very special car, Number 4404, a replica of the supercharged Super Snake built for Shelby himself right at the end of his life. It sold for $935,000.
Right now, there are zero CSX4000 for sale, and about 8 have come up for sale in the last year. So each time one is on the market, its value has to be analyzed like they’re 1-of-1. The particular example we have here is the number 4155 and it has an aluminum body, just like the original series of the 1960s.
Many replicas had fiberglass bodies, so the fact that it’s aluminum adds value. Its owner says it was commissioned in the late 1990s and finished around 2001. We found records of it exchanging hands for a little over $100k about a decade ago, but according to Collin, it’s worth about $250,000 to $275,000. That’s actually a low estimate, and an original CSX4000 is probably never going down in value.
Continuation cobras began being made in the 1980s, but this one is from Kirkham Motorsports, which partnered with Shelby in the 1990s. The Appraiser tells us these aluminum bodies were made in Poland in a former MiG fighter jet factory. This info is quite interesting to learn, especially given Shelby’s aviation connection and the aluminum bomber in the background of the video.
The 40-strong Polish workforce built hundreds of bodies and frames, which is ironic considering Shelby believed nobody would buy a Cobra from “some guy who goes off to Poland.” But to make things clear, final fabrication, machining of parts, and assembly happened in Provo, Utah.
In one specific way, the Continuation Cobra is better than the original. Instead of the iron big-block Ford engine, this comes with an aluminum 427 which makes the car even lighter and produces 500-600 horsepower.
