‘Last Shelby Cobra’ Designed by Carroll Shelby Is Headed to Auction
The 605-horsepower Ford Shelby Cobra codenamed “Daisy” is the last of its kind.
Nearly two decades after the late Carroll Shelby and former Ford Vice President Chris Theodore announced a secret Shelby Cobra-based project codenamed “Daisy” at the iconic Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance car show, the ride is returning to the very site as a hot-ticket item in Mecum’s upcoming Monterey auction.
As Autoblog notes, Ford assembled an bang-up team to work on the concept, including prestigious designer J. Mays. Throughout the process, they had the full participation and cooperation of Shelby, who put more than 150 miles of high-speed runs on an Ford’s oval track upon completion.
“At 81 years old, how lucky can you get to be part of a continuation of something that happened 40 years ago?” Shelby said at the end of his test drives. It’s going to be a real ass kicker!”
Sadly, Ford’s plans to do a production run were shelved in 2007 due to the recession, which is why this totally unique one-off is now known as the “Last Shelby Cobra.” Upon debut in 2004 at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, it was awarded Best-in-Show by Autoweek.
Daisy has since had something of an entertainment career, appearing in 2005’s XXX: State of the Union with star Ice Cube behind the wheel and Jay Leno’s Garage in 2020. She’s also the subject of Theodore’s award-winning book, The Last Shelby Cobra, My Times with Carroll Shelby.
Under the hood is one of only four 6.4-liter V10s produced by Ford’s Advanced Powertrain group. A formidable 605 horsepower is transferred through a torque tube to a rear-mounted Ricardo 6-speed manual transaxle from a Ford GT, which contributes to an almost perfect 50/50 weight distribution. The Ford supercar’s front and rear suspensions also serve double duty in the specially tuned for Daisy.
The body is made of double -wall fiberglass to increase rigidity, while the one-piece tilting hood is hydraulically operated to show off the unique power plant. Inside is a totally custom interior featuring a billet aluminum dash and headrests, carbon fiber release handles, leather-covered carbon fiber seats, four-point seatbelts, and as much legroom as Crown Vic, despite the Cobra’s short length.
There isn’t a pre-auction estimate, but based on the $5.5 million sale of Shelby’s personal 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake, the sky’s the limit. The Mecum Monterey 2021 auction kicks off on August 12.
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