By 1961, Carroll Shelby had established his reputation as a racing driver and, ready to kick it up a notch, he set out to build his own racecar. Impressed by the combined agility and power of borrowed Cad-Allards, he resolved to create the ultimate Anglo-American hybrid. AC Cars of Thames Ditton, England provided a nimble tubular frame and aluminum body in their Ace, highly reputed for its dexterity on the European circuit. Desirous of the visceral power of the Dearborn, Michigan-manufactured V-8, Shelby persuaded Ford to furnish their short-stroke 260-cubic-inch engine to complete the perfect union. The lightweight Ace frame had to be modified to accept the muscular V-8 engine, but such was Shelby’s power of persuasion that both entities agreed to allow the new prototype to be named after the race driver. In 1962, a brilliant yellow Shelby Cobra was unveiled at the New York International Auto Show.

Sporting a four-speed manual gearbox, the prototype, chassis CSX 2000, weighed in at just 2,100 pounds and was campaigned across the United States. Shelby American Inc. could barely meet demand for the brawny little racecar. By 1963 it upped the ante, switching to a rack-and-pinion steering system—but most notably, it adopted the 289-cubic-inch Ford motor with 271 horsepower and a top speed of 130 mph. The Shelby 289 Cobra could accelerate from 0–60 mph in just 5.8 seconds. The superb power-to-weight ratio enabled the newcomer to take 7th place in the 1963 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Dan Gurney went on to be the first US driver to win an FIA race in an American car at the Bridgehampton 500 KM in September of the same year. The following year at Le Mans, the Shelby Cobra won 4th place overall and 1st in the GT class.

CROSS-COUNTRY CSX 2496

This Shelby 289 Cobra, CSX 2496, was billed to Shelby American on 3 July 1964. Seven days later it was shipped from London to Los Angeles aboard the SS Loch Avon, arriving on 7 August. The Cobra was completed at Shelby American, finished in white over a black interior. On 16 February 1965, CSX 2496 was invoiced to Norwood Auto Sales in Norwood, Ohio at a cost of $5,195. The car was specified with Group A accessories and further outfitted with an outside rearview mirror, radio, chrome luggage rack, WSW tires, and antifreeze, adding $333.75 to the dealer invoice. Surprisingly absent from the dealer invoice was the normal freight charge…

James A. Fraser had placed his Cobra order at Economy Ford, a customer of his father’s company, in greater Cincinnati in December of 1964. Fraser, then just a sophomore in college at the University of Pennsylvania, had to have his father Fleming B. Fraser assist with the purchase of the car, even titling it in his father’s name.

Fraser flew to Los Angeles to pick up the car at Shelby’s LAX facility. On his drive back East, he stopped and visited friends in Chicago and Ohio before returning to Philadelphia. The only issue Fraser dealt with on the drive back was being woken up by a hotel desk clerk late at night; the Cobra’s horn was blaring in a New Mexico hotel parking lot. In the pitch black of night, Fraser disconnected the horn and later got the short fixed. The Cobra would remain his daily driver until partway through 1968, when he received a company-provided car. Yet even through moves to Atlanta, Cincinnati, and South Florida, the Cobra remained under Fraser’s ownership, with usage changing from daily driver to purely recreational from 1969 to 1973.

The car was repainted three times under Fraser’s ownership, first to silver metalflake in 1966; he had not been happy with the original ordinary shade of white, which was the only color option he had when the car was ordered. In 1970 it was refinished to red with black around the nose, and finally a patriotic red, white, and blue with airbrushed stars in 1972. The South Florida heat left few opportunities to truly enjoy the car, even with an attempted air conditioning installation. In 1973, Fraser bought a Porsche 911 S Targa at DeMaria Porsche in Coral Gables, Florida, leaving the Cobra there on consignment.

Later in 1973, Dr. Robert “Bob” Slayden of Atlanta, Georgia, purchased the Cobra after discovering it at the back of the dealership lot. Dr. Slayden would go on to have the car fully restored and refinished in red over black. In 1991, Dr. Slayden took CSX 2496 to a Carroll Shelby Foundation event and met the man himself, with Shelby signing the driver’s side wind wing (photos on file). Despite toying with selling the car in the mid-1990s to acquire a Ferrari, Dr. Slayden would retain ownership, even commissioning an engine rebuild in 2009 prior to eventually selling the car in November 2010. Canepa Design in Scotts Valley, California, repainted the car black and sold the car to current ownership, a respected private family collection in the Pacific Northwest, in September of 2011.

Today the car is offered in the desirable color combination of black over black, and it rides on painted wire wheels wrapped in Goodyear Eagle GT tires. The wind wings and sun visors are all Cobra-branded, and the car retains the Shelby-signed driver’s side wind wing. The interior features Stewart Warner instrumentation, a wood-rimmed steering wheel, a dash clock, and lap belts. The car is equipped with a black tonneau cover, as well as a black convertible top with top bows and side windows. The car’s CSX number is stamped in the trunk latch and driver’s side hood latch. The Cobra retains its matching-numbers engine, according to its chassis plate. The V-8 is fueled by a Holley carburetor (stamped S2MS-9510-A LIST 3259-1) and is equipped with cylinder heads displaying “19” and “21” castings.

Under current ownership, the car has covered just 192 miles. The Cobra is accompanied by a grease gun, Shelley jack, Thor knock-off hammer, and a modern tool roll. On file are copies of CSX 2496’s AC invoice to Shelby American, Shelby American’s invoice to Norwood Auto Sales, as well as select invoices and documentation, including period photos.

One of 655 small-block Shelby Cobras produced, CSX 2496 boasts just three owners from new, is equipped with its numbers-matching engine, and is accompanied by a very nice history file. It represents a special opportunity to acquire one of the most celebrated American sports cars, the 289 Cobra.