Equipment
289/271hp, 4-speed, painted wire wheels, Cooper tires, wind wings, woodrim steering wheel, Smiths gauges, heater, chromed air cleaner, aluminum rocker covers.
Condition
#3 Good
Runs and drives well. Flaws not noticeable to passersby. Most common condition.
Represented as the first 289 Cobra, and billed by RM Sotheby's as "likely the most obsessively documented Cobra on the planet." Three owners since new, and showing 27,707 supposedly actual miles. The chassis was originally slated to get the 260 engine used in the earliest Cobras, but numerous changes and delays to the original owners order meant that he got the newer, larger 289. A California scientist, he drove the Cobra for 23,000 miles before knocking a muffler loose and stowing it away in his garage, apparently too busy working on the first Macintosh computers. The car is now largely original other than a repaint and upgraded carburetor (the roll bar and dual mirrors it originally came with are not fitted), and all the better for it. The cockpit, though, is a bit past the point of patina and is now just tattered. The carpet is faded and worn, the door panels ripped, and the seats both ripped enough that stuffing is coming out on each side. I’d feel nervous just sitting in there.
Market commentary
While this isn't the first Cobra ever (that car sold for $13.75M in 2016), being the first 289 has to count for something, and so does originality considering how many genuine Cobras have long since been restored. The Arizona bidders placed a healthy premium on both, pushing it to a low-$1M price. Healthy, but not excessive. It's above what other early 289s in perfect condition could sell for but still within sight of them.