Light chassis, small-block torque
The 289 is the leaf-spring Cobra in resolved form, with a 271 bhp Ford small-block and narrow body before the 427. Chassis identity, original aluminium and registry history separate cars from continuations and replicas.
Market value · road
$878K–$1.2M
Typical $1.0M · 36 sales · -10% vs ’19–’20
Market value · road
$878K–$1.2M
Typical $1.0M · 36 sales · -10% vs ’19–’20
Market & Price
A terminal for one car: the model curve over the documented record, the benchmarks it is measured against, and the instruments that read it.
Records: 69 documented road sales on file · 2010–2026; estimate band $878K–$1.2M · good road cars. recorded sale prices · mixed hammer and premium-inclusive basis.
Compound annual growth
| Window | This car* | S&P 500 | Gold |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1Y | +7.2% | +18.8% | +21.9% |
| 5Y | -1.8% | +11.4% | +17.6% |
| 10Y | +0.8% | +13.3% | +11.8% |
*Modeled price CAGR · S&P is a price index, no dividends
Deepest drawdown · model window
Forecast ladder · model quantiles
| Horizon | P10 | P50 | P90 |
|---|---|---|---|
| +6M | $828K | $1.0M | $1.2M |
| +12M | $777K | $1.0M | $1.3M |
| +24M | $710K | $1.0M | $1.5M |
Median path with the 10th and 90th percentile · not investment advice
73 of 73 recorded sales · shown in USD · recorded currency in each record
Public results around $1.13 million in 2021–2023 gave way to high-$800'000 and low-$900'000 sales in 2024–2026. The 2026 Amelia Island result of $967'500 sits between those periods.
Floor
$878K
Typical
$1.0M
Ceiling
$1.2M
Estimate band for good road cars. 36 documented sales since 2019 plotted below.
Band and axis shown in USD. Sale positions use indicative fixed-rate conversion to USD; sale readouts retain recorded currencies. Indicative range for documented street 289 Cobras. Factory competition, FIA and major period-race cars require separate treatment.
Instrument calibration for this file is in progress — the terminal above reads the documented record directly.
Amounts are transcribed from the cited auction-house result pages. Condition, tax treatment and post-sale costs have not been normalised.
Overview
Carroll Shelby paired the aluminium-bodied AC Ace with Ford's compact V8, then divided the work across the Atlantic: AC built the chassis and body at Thames Ditton; Shelby American installed the drivetrain and finished the cars in California.
The 289 arrived for 1963 with revised suspension geometry and rack-and-pinion steering. FIA homologation 115 followed on 10 May 1963. An AC-entered Cobra finished seventh overall at Le Mans that June.
The works campaign expanded in 1964 with FIA roadsters and Peter Brock's lower-drag Daytona Coupe. Cobra roadsters and coupes then contributed to Shelby American's 1965 World Manufacturers' Championship.
Reference
The records
0
289-powered leaf-spring cars
RM Sotheby's count, including road, race and derivative 289s
0
Street 289 Cobras
Gooding count; published category boundaries vary
0in
Wheelbase
unchanged from the AC-derived chassis
HICON BID
A HICON Bid is a confidential expression of buying interest on the Shelby Cobra 289 file — never public, never shown to other members. It is not a binding purchase, and HICONIUM holds no funds.
HICON Bids are a member instrument. Sign in to place one.
The vault
You keep one? The record starts in your garage — identity, papers, photography, and the market evidence this file already carries, bound to your chassis.
The variants
The register separates the Cobra 289 into its documented executions. One reference silhouette per execution — each opens as its own file as the archive fills.
Street013 executions on file · references drawn to the house standard
The cars
Documented individual cars — chassis, colour, ownership and sale history. Open one for its full provenance. Public records only; members see the complete registry.
33 documented · public records
24 of 33 shown
The hands
The people whose work shaped the Shelby Cobra 289.
Creator and team principal
Matched AC's lightweight roadster with Ford's small-block V8 and organised the California production and competition programme.
Development driver and engineer
Tested and raced the 289 Cobra, using competition cars such as CSX2431 to develop springs, anti-roll bars and chassis settings.
