Combining the best aspects of both British and American automobiles, Carroll Shelby managed to create a legend with the 289 Cobra, cementing his name in the history books for generations to come. Taking an AC chassis and body, and shoehorning in a small-block Ford V-8, Shelby instantly had a hit on his hands. While the first 75 Cobras were fitted with 260-cc V-8 engines, the cars that would follow received a larger 289-cc engine. The Cobra was quoted at 271 bhp and weighed in at only 2,000 lbs., which was nearly 500 lbs. lighter than the Corvette. The old mantra of ‘Race on Sunday, sell on Monday’ proved to be especially true with the Cobra, and while Shelby’s sports cars were finishing at the front of the pack in racing events not only in North America but also in Europe, Cobras proved to be an enormous hit with customers looking for a truly exciting performance car for the street. Less than 600 289 Cobras were built.

Finished new in green over a black interior, chassis number CSX 2311, a desirable rack-and-pinion 289 Cobra with dual four-barrel carburettors, was invoiced to Warren Wooten Ford of Cocoa Beach, Florida, in March of 1964. Rather than being shipped directly to Warren Wooten Ford, according to the 4th edition of the World Registry of Cobras & GT40s, the car was instead picked up at Shelby American in person by its first owner, John Norris of Eau Gaille, Florida. Norris did not own the car for long and listed it for sale in the October 1964 issue of Road & Track, where it was described as having 12,000 miles on its odometer and having never been raced. Later that year it was purchased by Robert L. Eaton, another Floridian.

Eaton went on to keep the car for the next 15 years until a friend of his, Bill Turner, persuaded Eaton to sell the car in 1979, after years of asking. At that time, the car had 27,000 miles on the odometer. Turner decided to have the car cosmetically restored in 1987 by Gary Hunt and, shortly thereafter, it appeared in the October 1988 issue of Super Ford magazine. Chassis number CSX 2311 also appeared at SAAC-15 in 1990, held in Dearborn, Michigan, where it was awarded a trophy in the concours Cobra class.

Although Turner would continue to own the car for the following three decades, it only accumulated 1,000 miles during his ownership. In 2009 it was finally sold and purchased by Jerry Chandler of Rancho Santa Fe, California. After his passing in 2012, the car was sold by his widow to its current owner in August of that year. Remaining in Europe ever since, the car today resides in the Netherlands. It is still in its original colours and presents very well throughout.

Seldom offered for sale in Europe, 289 Cobras have always had a strong following in Europe for their combination of British styling and American muscle. This represents an excellent opportunity to purchase a very well-kept, low-mileage 289 Cobra with known ownership from new.