New 2000 series Dragon snakes. Has Shelby crossed a line here?

[daltondavid]

The price is $750,000 US Dollars. This is the first of what will be a total of 5 produced by Legendary motor cars. I believe they did some tribute Shelby mustangs with a high degree of accuracy. I saw this car at Carlisle last weekend. Very cool looking! And I looked inside and saw the vin plate as they use on Continuation Cobras and was shocked to see the car had a vin CSX2800 ! Is this not Blasphemous? What are your thoughts?

[Don Johnston]

Just another "continuation" Shelby License product among a long list of others.  Nothing new about this type of development anymore. Nicely detailed and expensive product.  Now we have the CSX2800 series of five in the unavailable to the public  Shelby Registry.

[daltondavid]

I guess the point I'm bothered with is the fact that CSX2000 and CSX3000 series cars are the original Cobras. This in my opinion dilutes the Marque.

[Cobrask8]

Agreed, should have used something from the 7000 series.

[98SVT - was 06GT]

I guess the point I'm bothered with is the fact that CSX2000 and CSX3000 series cars are the original Cobras. This in my opinion dilutes the Marque.

Regardless of who built it they ALL dilute the marque. The numbers don't matter. Outsiders don't know what the numbers mean and insiders know how many of each was built and numbers above to original total are continuations, clones, kits, fakes, or whatever you want to call them.
Or.... do the help the marque by being in front of the public and increasing awareness of the originals and their accomplishments?

[shelbydoug]

The line was crossed decades ago by CS himself.

While he always appreciated kind words and support from "us", the unspoken truth was that he wanted exclusivity like Ferrari had. His intent was never to build a car for secretaries and carpenters.

This latest offering from "Shelby" is just another prime example much like what Ford has done with the Ford GT.

It is about exclusivity and not about us working "pions".


The days of the used race cars like the "Coupes" being sold for the first $2,500 to show up were just an embarrassment and the hope is that no one remembers that or mentions it?


Incidentally is there actually a working "middle-class" left anywhere?

[Dwathencars]

My opinion, as somebody who drives CSX2367 to many local gatherings and events, is that replicas are a confirmation of the ongoing attraction of our Cobras.   Most car people know that there are many, many clones and replicas of Cobras.   And are pleasantly surprised when they realize that our Cobra is real.  The license plate is "64REAL" and I quite often lay out a copy of the original window sticker, invoice, etc.

What other car has this popularity 60 year later? - the replicas still being built are proof that the Cobra was, and is, a vehicle of great significance.  We should feel flattered.

The huge advantage that we all have is that SAAC does such a superb job of tracking and documenting all the real cars so that there are very few disputes.  Thank you Ned.

This reliable registry is much less available for many other collector cars, from early GTOs to many Corvettes.   I tried to acquire a Dtype Jaguar once that had unclear provenance, until I inspected the floor plan which proved that it was a well modified Etype. 

So again - thank you SAAC for the registries.  Getting fooled that a continuation/replica is a real Cobra is unlikely.    Dave

[chris NOS]

and it helped over the year to get parts to restore the originals one , 750 000 is  a lot off money for a replica !!

[98SVT - was 06GT]

The days of the used race cars like the "Coupes" being sold for the first $2,500 to show up were just an embarrassment and the hope is that no one remembers that or mentions it?

Shelby was done with the Coupes in 1964 - Ford had told him to concentrate on the GT40 program. The Coupes were entered under the SA name but they were being managed and run by Alan Mann Racing. After they had won the World Championship CS didn't even want to pay the freight to bring them back to the US. He told Alan Mann to dump them in the channel. Alan Mann spent his own money to send them back. The original Brock built Coupe was bought by Jim Russell of Russkit Slot car fame for $4,500. He used it to showcase his company. It was delivered with a fresh street HiPo long block. He had the body massaged and a show quality paint job put on it. He then took it to Tony Nancy and had a show quality leather interior installed in it. After about a year he offered it for sale for $12,500. Phil Specter bought it and painted the cars race history in the door. He sold it to his bodyguard for $1,000. Today it sits in a PA museum claiming to be "as raced" and unrestored. That buyer ended up paying millions for the car and even a couple million more to get a clear title.
Bottom line - there is nothing as useless as last years racecar.

https://afxracing.com/history-of-russkit/
At one of the races that year, Jim was talking with Carroll Shelby who mentioned that they were getting ready to crush the Cobra Daytona Coupes that had been so successful in GT racing over the prior two years. Jim offered to buy the original coupe, chassis number CSX2287 to use it for promotional display at the west coast races during the year. Shelby agreed and sold the car to Jim for $4,500. Strictly in the interest of saving money you understand, Jim hit on the idea of converting the car to street legality so it could be driven to the races instead of needing a trailer. This meant that Jim would have to make the ultimate sacrifice of driving the car on the street. Stepping into the breach, he steadied himself and drove the car back and forth to work many times while he had it. The sound of this 200mph supercar firing up in the driveway would bring kids out of the neighboring houses just to see it pass

[stephen_becker]

I am a factory-authorized Shelby American dealer - How may I help you?
www.beckerautogroup.com

[Chad]

I personally think they will have a hard time selling five of them.  They have a hard time selling the real Dragon Snakes and by the time you add the options to these new ones they will be bumping $1,000,000!! 

[Don Johnston]

I personally think they will have a hard time selling five of them.  They have a hard time selling the real Dragon Snakes and by the time you add the options to these new ones they will be bumping $1,000,000!!

Next will come the auction pre-sale hype.  Doubt if any will ever face a track light tree.

[Side-Oilers]

Googled the Russkit address shown in the ad:  6368 Arizona Circle, Los Angeles. 

Similar age & style of brick building as S-A Princeton St.

It was on the border of Culver City, where I grew up. Not far from "Gasoline Alley" on Jefferson Blvd where Traco was.  Lots of internal combustion thunder was generated in that little area where the 405 Freeway bisects Jefferson.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/6368+Arizona+Cir,+Los+Angeles,+CA+90045/@33.9802068,-118.3973322,3a,75y,247.36h,91.47t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sfDFzxYV5N0g9oGPK4YFJpw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!4m7!3m6!1s0x80c2b0adc5f6e731:0x92c58f5b72601099!8m2!3d33.9801061!4d-118.3977321!10e5!16s%2Fg%2F11c2h442k0?entry=ttu

[sd427]

Here's a recent photo at that address

https://www.saacforum.com/index.php?topic=13521.msg112378#msg112378

[Vernon Estes]

I personally think they will have a hard time selling five of them.  They have a hard time selling the real Dragon Snakes and by the time you add the options to these new ones they will be bumping $1,000,000!!

What is the over/under on total sales? 

All I want is the contact info for the buyers....got some ocean front property in Kansas City to sell those guys.

Kind regards,
Vern