Equipment
429/370hp, automatic, hub caps and trim rings, Firestone double white line tires, dual mirrors, factory air conditioning, power steering, power brakes, power windows, bucket seats, floor shift, console, pushbutton radio.
Condition
#3 Good
Runs and drives well. Flaws not noticeable to passersby. Most common condition.
Unrestored with 838 miles. The only King Cobra with a production Torino VIN, documented with the original invoice to Bud Moore Engineering. Dull, scratched bumpers. Light paint cracking in front of the fog lights and chips elsewhere. Doors sticking out at the bottom. Very well preserved interior and underbody. Very well kept and pretty. Only reveals any flaws upon close inspection. Kind of a goofy-looking, aardvark of a car, but very rare.
Market commentary
Its 429 may not have claimed the power of its Hemi competitors from Dodge and Plymouth but in the hands of NASCAR’s elite builders the King Cobra was competitive with them. This special road-going version sold for $577,500 at Mecum Kissimmee in 2016 and shows only three more miles (likely on and off Mecum transport trucks and puttering around auction venues) on its odometer today. The estimate on it in Indy was curiously lower ($400,000-$500,000 in 2022 vs. $500,000-$750,000 in 2016), and the even bigger surprise is that it didn’t even reach that. It does deserve more, but it’s also a bit obscure and has a more limited appeal than something like the Hemi Daytona that sold the next day. The right buyer just wasn’t here.