The Early Bird Catches the Cobra

Photo by Tom Suddard

According to the time stamp, this image was taken at 6:05 in the morning, a little before Pebble Beach opened to the public. Why do we get up so early each year for Dawn Patrol? So we can watch amazing machines like this one roll through the fog as they take to the field.

This 1962 Shelby represents the fifth Cobra ever built. Following its use in “The Killers,” the 1964 movie starring Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Claude Akins and Ronald Reagan, this very Cobra was sold to the Carroll Shelby School of High Performance Driving for the princely sum of $2500-a little less than $20,000 in today’s dollars. Celebrity students said to have driven the car include Steve McQueen and James Garner.

After many years and a color change or two, the Cobra has been restored to its school livery, complete with the large T’s signifying its use as a trainer.

This story ran in an old issue of Classic Motorsports. Want to make sure you’re reading all the latest stories? Subscribe now.

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