In the early 1960s, legendary race car driver Carroll Shelby had a wild idea, marry a small British roadster with a powerful American V-8. Shelby reached out to British car marque AC to supply a version of its curvy AC Ace roadster with an engine bay modified to accept a ferocious V-8 engine. The request was taken seriously by AC Cars, as audacious as it sounded at the time. Ford, eager to take on the Chevrolet Corvette in motorsports, readily supplied its new small-block V-8s. Subsequently, the Shelby Cobra was born in 1962.

Earlier cars were a handful at the limit, which spurred Ford to work with Shelby and AC for a highly modified, structurally enhanced version using a 425-hp V-8 displacing 427 cu. in.—twice the engine of the original Ford 260. Production ended in 1967, but Shelby eventually relented and partnered with a number of firms to build continuation cars that adhered to the original Cobra principles but allowed for some modern updates..

The CSX 4000 Cobra Continuation offered here was completed by Midwest Motorsports in Michigan in 2000. The car is accompanied by its original build sheet, and is one of just 164 of the first continuation series CSX 4000 cars with a hand-formed alloy body. It was highly optioned when new with a Tremec 5-speed manual, Halibrand-style wheels wrapped in correct Goodyear rubber, a full leather interior, Wilwood four-piston brakes, and a 500-horsepower aluminum 427 V-8. The Continuation, recognized by Shelby as CSX 4170, was ordered in a striking black over black with silver Le Mans stripes.