Las Vegas car plant breeds classic Cobras

LAS VEGAS -- The Shelby 289 Cobra, a classic American sports car from the 1960s, is being reborn at Shelby American's automobile manufacturing plant in Las Vegas.

The first in a limited production run of 1,000 new CSX8000 series Cobras was delivered to a California man in January and eight more cars are on order, said Brent Fenimore, general manager of the Shelby plant.

"It's quite apparent the market is there," Fenimore said. "People are investing in cars as much as anything these days."

From 1962 through 1965, 500 original Shelby 289 Cobras were produced, selling for about $6,000. Today, they're fetching $175,000 to $250,000 at collectible car auctions. More than 450 of them are registered in the Shelby American Automobile Club.

"A car is special if you create a car that there is a demand for," legendary car designer Carroll Shelby said shortly after opening the 150,000-square-foot plant at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway industrial park four years ago, "and I always like to produce one less car than I can sell."

Shelby American is the only automobile manufacturer in Nevada.

The CSX8000 series Cobra is the street version of the racing car, the CSX 7000 series Shelby 289 FIA Cobra, also produced in Las Vegas.

Fenimore said the plant, with 35 employees, put out 85 Cobras last year, including the Shelby 289 FIA and Shelby 427 S/C models, and will peak this year at a projected 160 cars.

Finish Line Motorsports in Las Vegas is one of 15 dealerships nationwide selling the new street version Cobras for about $90,000, fully assembled. A "rolling chassis" component package, minus engine and transmission, sells for $65,000.

Roy Hunt, owner of Finish Line Motorsports, said the first model was displayed in auto shows before being delivered to the car's owner.

Like any new car, it gets splashed in the automobile media to build demand.

"They are coming, but it's hard to gauge (demand)," said Hunt, who has one on order in Nevada. "I think it's going to be very high because it's a cool car. People that love the Cobra and understand what the original Cobra looks and feels like will buy it."

Hunt said the car has a British flavor, and said women will like it because it won't have the side exhaust pipes to burn their legs.

"For guys who don't want the big block (427), this is a little more docile," he said.

Finish Line has been in business for six years and sells racing chassis and other specialty cars such as the GT40 from CAV in South Africa. The average sale price of a car from Finish Line is $140,000, Hunt said.

Sporting the original 289-cubic-inch Ford V8 engine that Shelby put in the 1962 Cobra, the latest version is built for looks and speed.

It combines modern production techniques, stronger materials and technologically superior components.

"We're excited about the Shelby 289 street car and think people are going to be happy with the improvements made," he said in a statement. "For me, working on the 289 was like working with an old friend."

The car is basically the same chassis, but tubing is chrome moly instead of mild steel, Fenimore said. The suspension has been upgraded, and it has a modern brake system.

With 345 horsepower, the new Shelby 289 accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in about 4.6 seconds and turns a 12.8-second quarter mile.

The base chassis package is available with a special rear-end ratio configured for a small-block Ford engine and a four- or five-speed gearbox.

Its composite body is sculpted in the same slab-sided shape as the original and is available with either 15-inch chromed 72-spoke wire wheels or 15-inch winged knock-off wheels.

"Who wouldn't want one?" John Marranca of Buffalo, N.Y., said as he admired an original in the collection of Cobras on Shelby's show floor. "Just look at it."

Marranca owns a Shelby 427 kit car that he bought for $25,000 and was appraised at $42,000 by his insurance company. He said there'll be plenty of demand for Shelby's cars from "guys like myself that are trying to cheat some time ... (and ) baby boomers who should have bought them when we were kids."

The company began making the Shelby Cobra replica and the Shelby Series I in 1999, and is involved in special design and engineering projects for other automotive manufacturers.

About 250 of the Series 1, which sold for $125,000, were built and delivered. Shelby American is also making component packages, or kit cars, of the famous Shelby Cobra with the Ford 427 motor for $42,000.

"We've got variances in our target market," Fenimore said. "That's why we've got the kit car all the way up to the roller and the guy who's got enough money to have the dealer do it. I can tell you that a lot of guys get the component package because they want to build their own Cobra."

ON THE NET

Shelby American Web site: http://www.shelbyamerican.com/

Shelby American Automobile Club Web site: http://www.saac.com/