Raced to three championship wins in the 1960s, this 1965 Shelby 427 Cobra Competition is the winningest Cobra in history.

And as Cobras go, few are more important than the model auctioned by RM Sotheby’s at the Monterey sale – known as CSX 2000, it’s the very first Cobra built by the late Carroll Shelby himself.

The featured marque will be the Shelby Cobra, which will celebrate 50 years of exciting existence. Ahead of next year's festivities, one man decided to get a taste of on-track action a bit early.

They are recreated by Superformance, the only company licensed by Carroll Shelby to build reproductions. The latest addition is the MKII ‘Slab Side’ Cobra, which is an officially sanctioned ...