- Shelby built five Dragonsnakes, 289 Cobras modified specifically for NHRA drag racing.
- The CSX2427 is the only 289 equipped with a Stage III Quad Weber carburetor from the factory.
- Subject to a full restoration with NOS parts and a multiple show winner.
The original Shelby Cobra’s ability to outrun more exotic machines both on the street and on a road course in the early and mid-1960s is well known. But the combination of a relatively powerful engine in a small car also made it a force to be reckoned with on the track, and now one of just a handful of factory-built Cobra Dragonsnakes is up for auction.
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Shelby built only five 289ci examples. (4.7-liter) Dragonsnakes for use in sanctioned National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing competition. The cars featured tuned engines, special Koni shock absorbers, a steep rear axle ratio for maximum acceleration, and heavy-duty half-shafts to ensure the drivetrain didn’t break when the Goodyear slicks were hitched.
Related: Carroll Shelby Wouldn’t Recognize the AC Cobra GT Roadster’s Trick Aluminum Chassis
Stage I vehicles were equipped with a single four-barrel carburetor, while a Stage II upgrade added a second. But this car here, chassis CSX2427, supposedly the only privately purchased Dragonsnake, is the only 289 example that came from the factory with a Stage III quad Weber carburetor setup.
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There is no video footage included Mecum‘s auction listing, but we can only imagine the noise is the aural equivalent of participating in a chili-eating contest.
Don Reimer of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, ordered this quarter-mile snake new in the late summer of 1964. The car arrived at Adams County Motors Corporation and was given a special yellow paint job to match the Ford Thunderbird he and his brother Don used as a trailer car.
With Mike at the wheel, the car proved successful in A/Modified and AA/Modified production races, although it was not the fastest or winningest of the Super Snakes, as other examples had full factory support.
The Reimers even paid $9,000 for the car when new, the equivalent of $89,000 today and enough to buy two base Corvette Stingrays. But you need to add a zero to that number and perhaps almost double the result if you want to seal the deal MecumThis spring’s Indy sale. The now-restored Cobra is expected to sell for $1.5 million to $1.7 million when it crosses the block on May 18.
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