Call it a collectible or investment car, but you can be sure interest will be especially high in this 1963 Shelby 289 Cobra, which actor Steve McQueen regularly drove from 1965 to 1967. The hot roadster will be the main attraction of the Mecum Auction in Monterey from August 15 to 17. Mecum estimates the Cobra will sell for between $1,250,000 and $1,500,000.
Why all the interest in this specific Cobra?
The Shelby Cobra holds a special place in the hearts and minds of car nuts. Carroll Shelby, a former racer, modified the AC Ace, a British sports car with a six-cylinder engine, with a 260 cubic-inch Ford V-8 engine to create the original AC Cobra in 1962. Over time, the Shelby Cobra switched to more powerful and larger 289 cubic-inch and 427 cubic-inch V8s. Shelby built approximately 1,000 Cobras.
Any car that Shelby modified or built was constructed with outrageous performance as its primary purpose. Shelby’s company modified Corvettes, Mustangs, Vipers, and other vehicles, but the Cobra is the car most associated with the company that still bears the colorful designer’s name. The film Ford v Ferrari was based on Shelby.
Steve McQueen was more than a superstar Hollywood actor. McQueen owned, drove, and raced cars and motorcycles. McQueen did not own the Cobra to be auctioned by Mecum, but he drove it from 1965 to 1967. Film producer David L. Wolper (Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory), the original owner who bought the Cobra in 1963, sold it to conductor/composer Elmer Bernstein in 1965. Bernstein lent the car to McQueen until it was sold. According to Mecum’s car history, McQueen continued to drive the Cobra for months after Bernstein sold it.
Mecum’s website recounts the full history of the Cobra’s ownership trail and the updates and modifications until this year. From 2003 to 2024, the Cobra was first in Switzerland and then in the U.K. this year.
Originally silver with a red interior, this Cobra was painted black in 2003, when it was also fitted with a hood scoop and FIA-style roll bar. Mecum has the car’s full documentation, including past registrations and images of the upgrades and restorations.
