1965 Shelby Cobra Replica [most recognizable sports car ever built] for sale

No car guy’s bucket list is complete without a Shelby Cobra. You could rattle off 50 other cars and you’d still get an incomplete without one

It’s the most recognizable sports car ever built, and faithful copies can be found at every price point from DIY kits to high-end builds like this awesome Bright Red roadster. Packing a thundering 545 cubic inch Stroker V8, a 5-speed manual, 4-wheel disc brakes, and a surprisingly spacious and comfortable blacked-out cockpit, this Cobra Replica makes no excuses and takes no prisoners.

This fantastic-looking snake comes from West Coast Cobras (formerly Kellison, makers of the Stallion and other cars), and it’s been professionally finished to give it a classic Cobra look. The Stallion-type body is a slightly more elongated and sits up higher on the frame, which means the car just feels a lot more substantial overall. The fiberglass bodywork is reinforced in all of the important areas like the fenders and doors, and it has the iconic bits and pieces that make the Cobra a perennial favorite, including the bulging fenders fore and aft, the small doors at the profiles, thundering side-pipes, and the open-mouth ‘catfish’ front grille. Someone who cared about getting it right laid down the hotrod Bright Red paint and the White stripes with great care, faithfully replicating the original look. With just over 11k miles on the body, this roadster has obviously been driven and enjoyed, but any signs of use are minimal. Bottom line, this is a top-driver quality Cobra with beautiful curb appeal, and minimal imperfections that would really require close examination to spot. Other classic Cobra ingredients include a wide chrome roll hoop that covers both the driver and passenger, a quick release fuel cap on the decklid, plus chrome bumperettes/jack-posts in the rear (the front unit is comes with the sale if the next owner would like to install it) that make it look race-ready.

Inside you’ve got a pair of black bucket seats in an all-business cabin, but you can expect a lot more comfort than usual. The seats are bolstered and plush, with pleated inserts that provide all-day comfort, and the upholstery itself is soft and in great shape. A thick-rimmed Grant teering wheel swiftly takes in all of your commands at the head of the cockpit, while a full complement of VDO instrumentation looks like it belongs on a fighter jet and lets you know exactly what’s going on in the engine compartment. And taller drivers don’t have to worry, because the foot boxes were dropped a bit to increase legroom, and the wheelbase is longer than most kits, resulting in one of the more comfortable Cobras we’ve driven. We love the tactile feel of the raw toggle switches in the dash, the cowl-mounted mirror, and the forward-canted sporty shifter that manages the 5-speed manual gearbox below. This is a driver’s cabin for sure, although you do get some ‘amenities’ via a Pioneer AM/FM/AUX head unit that powers aftermarket speakers, an auxiliary USB charger in the dash, and a set of seatbelts for both the driver and passenger. It’s also got a good-sized trunk that’s fully carpeted, so this car doesn’t look or feel like a home-built special.

Cobras were all about big block power, and nothing delivers a big hit of torque like the 460 cubic inch V8 installed up front – punched and stroked out to 545 Stroker V8. Rebuilt just 460 miles ago, it’s plenty potent with upgrades like dual Holley 4-barrel carburetors, a performance high-rise intake, HEI ignition, an aluminum radiator, and long-tube headers that feed those cackling side-pipes. It’s tuned right and runs great, and thanks to finned Cobra valve covers, a giant Cobra air cleaner, and even steel-braided lines, it looks just like 1966 all over again. The chassis is another strong point, with lightweight control arms, rack-and-pinion steering, and coil-overs up front, along with a heavy-duty rear sway bar, sporty shocks, and 9-inch rear end out back. The 5-speed manual gearbox handles all that added power with ease, and because it has an overdrive gear this roadster performs well on the highway. And, of course, what Cobra would be complete without a set of howling side pipes, with these sounding especially luscious because they’re being fed by a genuine Ford big block, not some facsimile. Gorgeously polished 15-inch American Racing Torque Thrust chrome wheels fill the wells perfectly thanks to 255/60/15 front and 295/50/15 rear Cooper Cobra white-letter radials.