When Le Mans 24-hour winner and respected race driver Carroll Shelby retired from racing due to a heart condition in 1960, he turned his considerable energy and experience to the production of a sports car incorporating his own ideas. The result was the AC Cobra, a car that was famous from day one. In order to prove the car, Shelby immediately engaged in an extensive racing program. Shelby’s creation would visit victory circle at numerous circuits and, as a result, enabled him to sell all of the street models that AC was able to produce.

By the time Shelby approached AC Cars in England in 1961, with the intention of installing a Ford V-8 engine into the beautiful AC Bristol Roadster, the concept of stuffing a powerful large-bore engine into a lightweight platform was nothing new. Compared by Road & Track magazine to the earlier efforts of Sidney Allard and his good run of cars in the early Fifties; the Road & Track staffers pointed out that the Cobra was a “much more sophisticated automobile, and its racing successes are being achieved at a time when the competition is a lot tougher than was the case when the Cadillac and Chrysler Allards were in their prime.” It was duly noted that “one does not really appreciate what Shelby has done to the AC design until one sees an AC Bristol and compares it to a Cobra. The AC Bristol is a nice, lean, graceful car, and the Cobra is a squat, mean and brutal piece of equipment, but nevertheless extremely handsome.”

Between Shelby’s marketing savvy, engineering vision and fortuitous timing, this marque became the most successful purveyor of the idea, and the resulting Shelby Cobra became the ultimate execution of this concept. Although Shelby’s original purpose for challenging Ferrari’s racing supremacy wasn’t truly realized until the emergence of the aerodynamic Daytona Coupe and his subsequent participation in the Ford GT 40 program, the original Cobra, nonetheless, quickly became a celebrated workhorse of the SCCA racing circuit, as well as winner of the 1965 International Championship for GT Manufacturers , and is recognized as the singularly most handsome dual-purpose roadster that remains one of the archetypal legends of American racing and sports car production.

This particular car, CSX 2216, is logged in the fourth edition of the World Registry of Cobras and GT 40s with its documented early history that is confirmed with CSX 2216’s original window sticker, Shelby American invoice to the receiving dealer, and a certified copy of the AC Cars Limited invoice to Ford Motor Credit for the account of Shelby American and the original AC Cobra Chassis Instruction Book.

The AC Cars Limited Copy Invoice No. A.7426. is dated October 28, 1963 and shows that CSX 2216 is “One A.C. Cobra cellulosed in White with Red trim, top and tonneau, rack and pinion steering.” It was shipped on the SS Pacific Fortune, which set sail on November 7, 1963 with Los Angeles, California as its destination. Shelby American invoiced (no. 03206) Pearson Ford Co. at Broadway and 12th Street in San Diego, California on January 13, 1964 for a total of $5,525.20 – less the $1,000 deposit. The window sticker MSRP shows the “Cobra Sports Roadster” listed at $5,995 plus $391 worth of Group A factory installed optional equipment and $64.50 in Group B extras for a total initial investment of $6,747.50 with the license and tax fees added in.

Henry Hartwell Hester was the original owner; from all indications he was quite interested in treating the Cobra suitably and with respect. Mr. Hester, an architect in LaJolla, California, attached his business card to the inside front cover of AC Cobra Chassis Instruction Book. Below the card are handwritten notes on the car’s particulars that are fashioned in the same meticulous manner that Mr. Hester would have used on architectural presentation drawings for clients. His recorded purchase date is September 21, 1964 with the chassis and engine numbers chronicled below. Mr. Hester also made notes on his choice of service agent (Precision Motors of Beverly Hills), plus tire specs, sources and the Shelby factory information. His contacts names, addresses and phone numbers are all duteously logged in.

The original AC Cobra Chassis Instruction Book in its original envelope is something very special to have with the car; imagine the surprise when the booklet was opened and the yellowed-from-age, but 100-percent original window sticker was found within. This is deemed to be a rather amazing find, in that a longtime Shelby AC Cobra expert, with experiences with many of these special machines, conveyed that it was the first original window sticker he had ever seen with its car; rare indeed.

The Registry fills in that CSX 2216 was placed for sale in the May 1965 issue of Road & track magazine (see photo array) and was advertised as follows: “1964 Cobra. Never raced, carefully maintained, standard street equipment. White with red leather, radio, 4,500 miles. $5,000.” Mr. Hester’s name and LaJolla contact information was also included. The car did not sell and received repainting in black in 1967. As with all cars, there are stories that go with them through the years that add to the special character; some are unanticipated. In this case, according to the Registry and locals they interviewed, 2216 was left for servicing at an Oldsmobile dealership in LaJolla for an oil change. Arriving to pick up the Cobra, “Hester was stunned to discover an employee had crashed it. The damage was repaired and in ’70 Hester sold the car to James Gauthier (El Cajon, CA).” One can only imagine the owner’s astonishment.

In the ensuing years the car was adapted for Solo I competition and the car was then equipped with a slew of performance oriented components. Through the natural evolution of a machine in a racing environment, (Gauthier successfully raced the car until selling it in 1982 with a replacement engine), many changes can occur in the business of going fast. At the time of the modifications; a handwritten list on the AC Chassis Instruction Book of added equipment is extensive with such items as SCCA-approved rollbar, 12-quart oil pan, oil cooler, four-core radiator, sway bars, side pipe headers, Koni shocks, Ansen scattershield, additional instrumentation, hood and oil cooler scoops, plus many other internal parts all intended for further track performance.

AC Cobra CSX 2216 has many outstanding attributes that includes the AC Cars chassis tag, 2216 stamped on the trunk catch, the doors are also properly stamped, as is the frame and driver’s side hood latch. Power is from its 289-cid V-8 engine with proper cylinder heads, Cobra aluminum valve covers, aluminum case T10 four-speed manual transmission, original Halibrand magnesium knock-off wheels with safety-wired three-prong spinners, aforementioned original documentation, hand-formed aluminum body, K-code harmonic balancer, Shelby aluminum dual-plane intake, black leather interior, black carpet, singular center-mounted cockpit mirror, Stewart-Warner instrumentation, wood-rimmed steering wheel with AC center cap, hood scoop and passenger grab bar. The entire package represents a straightforward machine that is presented in a very tidy manner with typical signs of usage and is more than ready to be exercised properly.

The AC Cobra is not just another sports car that someone installed a big V-8 into. It is truly a properly conceived and developed machine which was greatly improved due to its extensive racing program. There’s nothing timid about one of Carroll Shelby’s famous cars. He built a car for individuals who not only appreciate fine cars, but really know how to use one.

As the back of the original window sticker states in the list of standard equipment at no additional cost; “The pleasure of owning the finest, fastest and most versatile sports car IN THE WORLD.”