Carroll Shelby’s personal Super Snake set for Barrett-Jackson auction

The twin-supercharged 1966 Shelby Cobra 427 Super Snake built for personal use by Carroll Shelby will be offered by Barrett-Jackson during its Scottsdale collector car auction, the third time since 2007 that the car has been auctioned by Barrett-Jackson.

The Super Snake, chassis CSX 3015, will be auctioned as part of a private collection of special sports cars, muscle cars and exotics that will be included in Barrett-Jackson’s 50th anniversary auction to be held March 20-27. The customary January dates for the annual sale were pushed back because of the ongoing pandemic.

Another unique offering from the 18-car collection is a 1955 Ford Thunderbird that was the first production model sold to the public.

The Super Snake was sold twice before by Barrett-Jackson, the first time in 2007 with Carroll Shelby present to introduce the car. The supercharged Cobra still reigns as the highest-priced Shelby sold at public auction.

In 2007, Phoenix-area builder and Barrett-Jackson regular Ron Pratte purchased the Shelby for a then-astounding $5.5 million (results include auction fees), making it the top-selling vehicle at any Barrett-Jackson auction at the time.

Pratte sold the Super Snake and the rest of his vast collector car and automobilia collection at Barrett-Jackson in 2017, when the Cobra fetched $5.115 million.

“CSX 3015 is arguably one of the most iconic, and important, American sports cars ever built,” Craig Jackson, CEO of Barrett-Jackson, said in a news release. “In 1968, Road & Track called it ‘The Cobra To End All Cobras,’ and it has more than lived up to that standard.

“When it first crossed our block in 2007, Carroll was there and told the story of how he got pulled over by the Nevada Highway Patrol doing 190 mph in the car. Its sale ended up setting a new world record for any Shelby vehicle sold at auction. Carroll often said, ‘make history, then repeat it,’ and that’s exactly what we hope to do again. This car was truly ‘Carroll’s Cobra,’ and it, along with other incredible vehicles selling from this private collection, will make collector car history next month.”

CSX 3015 originally was built by Shelby’s crew as a race car, one of just 23 competition 427 Cobras produced. A year later, it was transformed into the ultra-high-performance Super Snake for Carroll Shelby’s personal use on the street.

“Shelby American added twin Paxton superchargers to the 427ci V8 and mated it to a 3-speed automatic transmission that could handle the massive power,” according to the Barrett-Jackson news release. “The car was wicked fast and became a cultural icon.”

Just one other Super Snake was built by Shelby American, but the Cobra and its owner perished decades ago when it was driven off a cliff into the Pacific Ocean.

Another special Shelby Cobra that will be auctioned from the collection is a continuation car from the CSX 4000 Series that was commissioned by Carroll Shelby.

The collection also includes four rare Chevrolet performance cars, a 1969 Yenko Chevelle, one of 99 built and the only one known to exist with a column-shift automatic transmission; a 1968 Corvette COPO convertible, the only one known to be finished in British Green with a Dark Orange leather interior; a 1969 Camaro custom coupe powered by a 7.0-liter GM LS7 with a Magna supercharger; and a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Indy Pace Car convertible, a genuine Z11-coded RS/SS Indy 500 Pace Car.

The Super Snake will be one of the few vehicles at the Scottsdale sale to be offered with a reserve minimum bid price, with the rest of the collection and nearly every other lot at the auction to be sold without reserves.

For more information about the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction, visit the company website.

This article, written by Bob Golfen, was originally published on ClassicCars.com, an editorial partner of Motor Authority.

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