AC Cobra Mk II – CSX2242

New attempt

We already have the Cobra with chassis number CSX2242 in our collection of AC Cobra Mk II, which can be seen here. And there you can read about this vehicle that it was auctioned by Mecum in Kissimmee in 2025. This took place between 7 and 19 January 2025, so: very recently. But Mecum was unable to sell the vehicle for a maximum bid of $1,050,000 – and that is probably why Broad Arrow is now trying at Amelia Island in early March 2025. Interestingly, the estimated price is between $1 and $1.3 million. One might wonder why CSX2242 was not purchased at Mecum, but the lower estimate can usually be interpreted as the seller’s pain threshold. But we don’t want to know everything. And anyway, it is a very exciting car.

VIN: CSX2242
Engine: 4032
Auktion: Broad Arrow, Amelia Island 2025, estimate 1 to 1,3 mio. Dollar, with these informations: «According to the SAAC World Registry, chassis number CSX 2242 was dispatched from AC Cars to Los Angeles, California, on 17 December 1963 aboard the SS Loch Garth. The Princess Blue over red leather Cobra was subsequently transported to Shelby American Inc. in Venice, California, where it was mated to its 271-horsepower, 289 cu-in Hi-Po V8 engine (number 4032) and four-speed manual transmission. Before it left Shelby American, CSX 2242 was also generously equipped with “Class A” accessories including “aluminum rocker covers and WSW tires, less a luggage rack, ($250.50); dual 4V manifold/carburetors (194.50); large oil pan ($85); and 5 quarts of antifreeze ($3.55).” In Shelby Cobra Fifty Years by marque expert Colin Comer, Comer notes the significant desirability of CSX 2242’s factory color scheme as well as what he terms its “Factory Competition Options” referring to its four-barrel intake setup including two Carter AFB carburetors on a Shelby aluminum intake with progressive throttle linkage and Stelling Heiling chrome air cleaners. Fergus Ford Inc. of Skokie, Illinois, received an invoice in the amount of $5,728.55 for the Cobra on 27 February 1964. While the original owner is not recorded, they are believed to have relocated the car to Texas in the late 1960s where it was later purchased by Clark Van Nostrum of Greenwich, Connecticut. Nostrum is understood to have retained CSX 2242 for at least the next 27 years, with the Shelby Registry noting that it appeared for sale in the fall of 1996, described as “red with black leather, 289 with four 2-barrel Webers and race cam, chrome wires, roll bar and hood scoop, less than 1,000 miles since ground-up restoration in 1985.”
The Cobra eventually sold to Michael Scott-Smith of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who would later commission a cosmetic refreshening by the noted Shelby restoration team at Legendary Motorcar Company in Halton Hills, Ontario in the 2000s. While the car was initially refinished in its red 1980s livery, it was desirably taken back to its original Princess Blue scheme shortly thereafter while being represented for sale by Colin Comer. Its striking red leather interior was appointed with matching red wool carpets, latch and link safety belts, and a black soft top. The current owner purchased CSX 2242 from Colin’s Classic Auto in 2010. Diligently well-preserved and cared for since its restoration, CSX 2242 represents a wonderful example of the humble Anglo-American collaboration that took the automotive world by storm. The original Shelby Cobra remains one of the most highly sought-after and frequently replicated cars of all time; with only 463 small-block, rack and pinion, “leaf spring” Cobras ever assembled between 1962 and 1965, this beautifully restored example is all the more remarkable. Furthermore, it should be noted that the Cobra retains its original 289 cu-in V8 (date code 4A20H – 20 January 1964) topped with dual four-barrel Carter AFB carburetors, mated to its original aluminum T10 four-speed transmission (casting date 26 June 1963). Additionally, original and correct number stampings (2242) corresponding to the chassis number can be found on the hood latch, trunk latch, and both door hinges, a telltale sign that this Cobra retains a high degree of body originality.»

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