1965 Shelby Cobra FIA 289

“Highly Venomous”

1965 Shelby Cobra FIA 289

FIA HTP, UK road registration

Roaring racing machine that’s ready to rumble

The story is well known by now. When Carroll Shelby got his hands on the plucky little two-seater roadster that small British manufacturer AC Cars had been producing in small numbers since 1953, the caterpillar transformed into something slightly more brutal than a butterfly. By shoehorning one of Ford’s small-block V8s into the AC Ace while ticking off an endless laundry list of additional modifications, the burly Texan shaped a highly venomous creature before it was allowed to roll out of Shelby’s dusty garage. The Shelby Cobra was born.

The lightweight British chassis mated to the Ford 289 V8 engine soon dominated the North American road racing scene before conquering the world by claiming the title in the 1965 FIA World Championship for Manufacturers, the Snakes repeatedly launching legendary racers such as Ken Miles, Dan Gurney, Bob Bondurant and Phil Hill into the winners’ circle.

It’s no surprise that this proposition would go on to equally dominate the historic scene, usually in its hardtop guise. Over the past decades, numerous wins in the prestigious RAC TT Celebration at Goodwood and in the various pre-66 GT series are ample proof of that, as the Cobras regularly trounced their opposition consisting of Jaguar E-types, Corvette Stingrays, Ferrari 250 GT SWBs and Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagatos.

Bespoke-built in 2020 by North Devon Metalcraft for a highly competitive and discerning racer, this outstanding FIA Cobra represents the result of hundreds of hours of development, making it one of the fastest examples in Europe. Configured in right-hand drive, it places the driver on the best side for most European circuits. Proven at the very highest level it dominated Equipe Classic Racing and the Masters Gentlemen Drivers series with multiple race wins in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Based on an original AC 2L that was later upgraded to V8 power and officially registered as such, it is beautifully finished in the authentic AC Atlantic Green. The FIA HTP is valid until 2032

Some specs

• FIA-legal new 289 CI block and heads by Warrior

• Just 7.4 hours runtime, producing 460hp on the dyno

• Recently rebuilt and modified Super T10 gearbox using Sebring ratio

• Hewland slipper differential with 1:3.77 ratio

• Magnesium wheels

• Koni 8211 Series shock absorbers

• 80 Liter Alu foam-filled tank

Spares

• 4 Alloy wheels

• 2 new front discs

• Premier safety tank and fitting panels

• Straight through rear silencers to run unsilenced

• Supertrap extra silencers for quiet testing

• Lift jack bumper brackets

• MSD 6AL unit

• MSD Distributor

• Fuel pomp

• PC windscreen and side screens on brackets

• Various suspension parts

• Various smaller parts