Classic Recreations announces carbon fiber bodied Shelby Cobra race car

Classic Recreations (Yukon, Okla., U.S.), a builder of high-performance custom vehicles, including Shelby GT500CR continuation cars, has announced its latest innovation — an authentic, officially licensed 1965 carbon fiber bodied CSX Shelby Cobra race car. As the most recent achievement to emerge from Classic Recreations, the full carbon fiber body follows the company’s 1967 carbon fiber bodied GT500CR Mustang which was released in early 2021. Only 10 of the new Shelby Cobra race cars, dubbed the “Diamond Edition” in honor of Shelby American’s (Gardena, Calif., U.S.) 60th anniversary, will be produced. Granted CSX serial numbering, CSX4521 through CSX4530, by Shelby Licensing, each will feature a specially designed custom diamond-encrusted badge, feature Carroll Shelby’s commemorative signature on the dashboard and be sold as a completed race car.

“What Classic Recreations has achieved with their carbon fiber program is the continuation of a dream Carroll Shelby himself envisioned for the future,” Shelby American president Gary Patterson says.

Similar sentiments were expressed by co-CEO of Carroll Shelby International and CEO of Carroll Shelby Licensing Inc., Neil Cummings. “Classic Recreation’s has been a licensee of Carroll Shelby Licensing for over 15 years and each year they continue to innovate and push the envelope just like Carroll did himself,” Cummings says.

According to Classic Creations, the Cobra body has been completely engineered in autoclave-cured carbon fiber including the floor and doors, achieving a mere 88 pounds of body weight. A custom-designed, geometrically correct chassis and suspension were designed by Jason Engel, founder and vice president of design and engineering of Classic Recreations. Updated technology and more comfort are also features that were added to the vehicle.

“Carroll Shelby taught me the significance of pushing the envelope through innovation and passion,” Jason Engel says. “A dream of Carroll’s was always to place the highest horsepower engine possible in the lightest, most agile car imaginable and it is our honor to have met that challenge.”

The Cobra will be built and assembled by a team of designers and technicians under a new division of Classic Recreations, focused solely on research and development (R&D). The new Shelby Cobra race car is engineered to mate with a Ford Performance Gen 3 Coyote engine, producing more than 800 horsepower when combined with the VMP Supercharger.

The vehicle features independent rear suspension, a T56 Magnum Tremec transmission, and Wilwood 6 piston brakes, front and rear. Designed without a tubular chassis on purpose, the team wanted to ensure the Cobra was built for strength and could rival current supercars in weight and horsepower. Built to handle like a modern vehicle, the “Diamond Edition” carbon fiber Cobra race car is produced entirely in the United States and will be sold for $1.2 million dollars.