By the early 1960s, Carroll Shelby was already a name spoken with reverence in racing paddocks on both sides of the Atlantic. But the fiercely competitive Texan was looking beyond the driver’s seat. What he wanted next was not just to win races; it was to do so in a car of his own. He found his dream in an unlikely source: the AC Ace, a modestly powered but beautifully balanced roadster built in Thames Ditton, England. The Ace was everything a proper sports car should be—light, nimble, and with show-stopping good looks. What it lacked was firepower. Shelby’s answer was simple, and quintessentially American: drop a V-8 under the hood.

Eager to inject life into its performance image, Ford was an easy sell to supply Shelby with a stream of 260-cubic-inch V-8 engines. The combination proved instantly electric. Unveiled at the 1962 New York Motor Show, finished a vivid yellow and weighing just over 2,000 pounds, the Cobra brimmed with energy. It was fast, it was ferocious, and it looked like nothing else on the road.

A year later came the Cobra Mk II. Now equipped with rack-and-pinion steering and a more potent 289-cubic-inch V-8, the Cobra could sprint to 60 mph from a standstill in under six seconds and reach a top speed of 130 mph, placing it among the top performance cars of the era and cementing Carrol Shelby’s place in the pantheon of American automotive personalities.

The story of CSX 2208, the Shelby 289 Cobra offered here, begins in late 1963 when it left AC Cars in England bound for Los Angeles aboard the SS Loch Loyal. Finished in the seldom-seen livery of Vineyard Green over Saddle leather trim, CSX 2208 received its engine and chassis upgrades from Shelby American before being invoiced to Broad Motors of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 8 January 1964. The car was equipped with “Class “A” accessories of aluminum Cobra valve covers, chromed 60-spoke wire wheels shod in whitewall tires, and a luggage rack, for a total suggested retail price of $5,584.05.

According to the Shelby Registry, the car’s first owner was a Philadelphia-based art collector who retained it only briefly before selling it to local clothier Stanley Spritzler. In July 1968, Spritzler sold CSX 2208 to Lee Weinstein of Chatham, New Jersey, who purchased the Cobra as a high school graduation gift to himself—a decision that would begin a 47-year period of continuous ownership. Even as the Cobra’s value and rarity grew, Weinstein continued to use and enjoy his prize regularly, right up until his passing in 2013.

Following a change of ownership in 2015, CSX 2208 was treated to a concours-quality restoration over a three-year period by the marque specialists at Classic MotorSports in Northville, Michigan, which was completed in 2019. The car’s aluminum bodywork was sent to Colour Restoration in Loveland, Colorado. There, it underwent a meticulous two-year process with more than 300 hours dedicated to block-sanding the panels in preparation for a fresh coat of its original Vineyard Green, paired with all-new Saddle leather trim. During the restoration, CSX 2208 was importantly confirmed to retain its matching-numbers chassis and hood and trunk latches, indicative of its cherished life.

In July 2025, the car received a checkup from the esteemed specialist Tom Yang of Hollowville, New York, which included a thorough inspection, fluid service, and installation of a new clutch master cylinder. The Cobra is now accompanied by Lee Weinstein’s notebook logging his decades of care, a dossier of restoration documentation, receipts, period service invoices, and a rare original AC Cobra chassis instruction manual.

Finished its rare factory-correct specification, with known ownership history from new and a restoration executed by renowned specialists, CSX 2208 offers a superb opportunity to experience one of the world’s most celebrated and sought-after sports cars.