Rare 1965 Shelby 427 Cobra competition Jay Leno roars into the garage

The Shelby Cobra A simple scenario at the car shows thanks to the developing Replica business, But original cars are very rare. The 1965 Shelby 427 Cobra is very rare in this episode of Jay Leno’s Garage. This is just one of 23 competing models.

After the success of Carol Shelby installing the Ford V-8 in the lightweight British language AC ace The frame to create the Cobra, he previously raised with the Big-Black 427 model. The larger, more powerful engine required a redesigned chassis, and the bodywork was also modified by large fender flares and gap taking up the front.

Cobras used the “side-oiler” version of the Ford 427-cubic-inch V-8 that driven the oil to the crankshaft as it had an oil path on the block side. Ford built a single-overhead cam version of this engine for NASCAR, while Cobra used a pushroad version. Competitive models have a single 4-barrel carburetor and are officially rated 425 horsepower when new. They can be as close as 475 hp or 500 hp, Jay said. They have aluminum heads and aluminum intake manifold, to save, weight as well as large brakes.

As the name suggests, the competition model was intended for racing, but Shelby was unable to build enough cars by the April 1965 deadline for the racing season that year. This left Shelby with a cobra variant that was not homogeneous for racing, but was very aggressive for street use. Ford is no longer interested in supporting the Cobra racing program because it has already gone all out on the GT40.

Shelby began to make competition models a little more fashionable S / C models, But sales never took off. This created a headache for Shelby, but it turned competitive models into valuable collections. Lenovo claims that the car featured here is worth 2.5 million. Not bad for a car that costs about $ 8,000 or new, 000 9,000, according to Jay.

The cobra also narrowly escaped California’s recent wildfires. After a fire broke out in the previous location, the car owner brought it to Leno’s Los Angeles-Area garage for temporary storage.

This gave Leno a chance to drive on the road and it gives us a chance to hear the action of the hair 427. It’s a loud, roaring motor that, despite its racing intentions, somehow makes it idle. Jay says driving a car is like driving a hand grenade, calling it “a lot of fun.”

Watch the video above to learn more about this very rare and very valuable cobra.