Fire-breathing Shelby Cobra with bootful of trophies
Few Cobras have seen such resounding success as the Essex Wire ‘Ollie the Dragon’, as Simon de Burton explains
Ed Lowther at Maryland’s Marlboro track, 1966.
Steve Knoll
Described as “the winningest Cobra of them all”, this famed Shelby Cobra spearheaded Ford’s attack on both the SCCA A and B production series and the US Road Racing Championship.
The project was backed by industrial wire manufacturer Essex Wire through president Paul O’Malley and chairman Walter Probst, who saw marketing gold in sponsoring Ford’s racing endeavours.
| 1. The car was rebuilt to exact original specification by top Cobra restorer Mike McCluskey | 2. Scored 497 out of 500 at the 2013 Shelby American Automobile Club convention – the best ever for a Competition Cobra restoration | 3. Essex Wire livery includes Wimbledon White paintwork with Raven Black stripe bordered in orange | 4. Firestone tyres are genuine ‘new, old stock’ items dated 1966 | 5. Ultra-rare original parts include a magnesium intake manifold and aluminium cylinder heads | 6. 427ci ‘big block’ V8 can produce up to 670bhp |
‘Essex man’ Fred Krammer was put in charge, recruiting Cobra racer Robert ‘Skip’ Scott who leased chassis CSX3009 before signing sports car star Dr Dick Thompson and midget racing specialist Ed Lowther as team-mates.
Built in January 1965 to ‘competition roadster’ specification, the Wimbledon White Cobra’s high-compression 427ci V8 drove through a Ford top-loader transmission and limited-slip differential.
Black and orange bonnet stripes and ‘Essex Wire’ prominently displayed on each door left no doubt as to the car’s sponsor and, when Scott and Thompson debuted it at the Pensacola USRRC 200 in April 1965, it finished fourth overall. It soon picked up the nickname ‘Ollie the Dragon’ due to its knack of belching fire every time the driver let off the throttle.
Painstakingly restored
Mecum
CSX3009’s finest hours came after Lowther bought it to contest the SCCA’s A production series, achieving multiple chequered flags to win the 1966 national championship and to clinch second place the following year.
German GT and Le Mans racer André Ahrlé acquired the car around 20 years ago, returning it to its original Essex Wire spec.
A multiple concours grabber, it will be offered with a comprehensive spares package, plus Lowther’s helmet, race suit and gloves from 1966 – the halcyon year that CSK3009 secured its first championship on the way to becoming the “winningest” one.
1965 Shelby 427 competition Cobra 427 ‘Essex Wire’
On sale with Mecum, Kissimmee, Florida, January 18. Estimate: £POA. mecum.com