Shelby Dragonsnake Cobra starts at $750,000

Sep 16, 2023

The roadster that inspired modern drag racing is being built again.

The 1963 Shelby Dragonsnake Cobra is back.

Shelby American announced Friday that it's reopening production of the classic roadster. Only five of these vehicles will be built, by hand, taking up to two years apiece.

Who buys this masterpiece that starts at $750,000?

"People who appreciate the heritage of what a Cobra was and what it means. That car won more races in the '60s than any other Cobra," Gary Patterson, president of Shelby American, told the Detroit Free Press. "This was one of the winningest in the world. That's pretty badass."

In the past, older men have purchased these high-priced, high-performance vehicles, Patterson said, but younger buyers have been drawn to Shelby vehicles since the 2019 release of the "Ford v Ferrari" film featuring actor Matt Damon as Carroll Shelby, the legendary automotive designer and racing driver.

"How sexy is it to take on the world's best, which at the time was Ferrari, and take them off the podium?" Patterson said. "That was on the road course. This car is drag race oriented. And they did the same thing at the national drag strips and won championships back in the '60s."

Buyers now tend to be entrepreneurs who have owned and run businesses, or C-suite executives, he said.

"The 1960s Shelby ‘Dragonsnake’ program began when a small group of young Shelby American production employees developed and drag raced a pair of the roadsters to amazing success," Patterson said in a news release. "Carroll was so impressed that he approved three more to be built for customers. We reopened Dragonsnake production so fans can experience the thrill of launching a ‘new’ Shelby Cobra down the quarter mile."

The five 1963 roadsters being built in 2023 honor those five roadsters of the past, he said.

In 2022, the Shelby GT500 Code Red Ford Mustang priced at nearly $300,000 debuted at the Woodward Dream Cruise. That vehicle "was a direct descendent of the 1963 Dragonsnake program," Vince LaViolette, Shelby American vice president of operations, said in a news release.

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The first car in the series honors Bruce Larson and his 1963 Shelby 289 Cobra Dragonsnake, named the most successful drag-racing Cobra of all time. His vehicle was transformed from a street Cobra to a Dragonsnake race car with new rear-fender flares, American Racing wheels, drag slicks, a chrome roll bar, Sun tachometer and chassis tweaks, Shelby American said. Side curtains and a hardtop improved aerodynamics.

Buyers of these new five roadsters can choose the original 31-coat Fuchsia Metallic color and design that Larson drove into National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) history books in 1964 and 1965 — or select a custom paint and design package. In 1966, Ed Hedrick of Philadelphia purchased the Cobra and won every NHRA national-level race he entered. A year later, Hedrick won the world championship.

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The five new aluminum-bodied cars are being assembled by Legendary GT in Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, which builds continuation Shelby cars for Shelby American. Weighing about 2,100 pounds and with more than 500 horsepower, the car has lightning-speed acceleration.

The car comes with a bevy of features including:

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Shelby American manufactures and markets performance vehicles in partnership with Ford Motor Co. New owners automatically become members of the international club Team Shelby, and the vehicles are recorded in an official registry to protect value and authenticity.

Orders for the Shelby Dragonsnake Cobra may be placed directly at legendarygt.com.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @phoebesaid