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“Super Snake” Tops Super Saturday at Barrett-Jackson
Written by: Tom Jensen   
01/20/2007
Scottsdale, AZ
 
Carroll Shelby's 1966 427 "SUPER SNAKE" Cobra drew an astonishing $5 Million bid...the highest ever for Barrett-Jackson. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson) » More Photos

Saturday at the 36th Annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car event proved to be another record breaker, led by the sale of Carroll Shelby's personal 1966 Cobra 427 "Super Snake" for an astonishing $5.5 million, the highest price ever at a Barrett-Jackson auction. The gavel price was $5 million even, with a 10 percent buyer's fee added, as it is to all cars going across the block.

The winning bidder on the twin-supercharged Cobra was Chandler, Ariz., collector Ron Pratt, the man who last year at this auction paid $4.1 million for a GM Motorama bus and made several other high-end purchases this year.

Shelby himself was on stage for the auction of his car, which he said would accelerate from zero to 60 miles per hour in just over 3 seconds, with a top speed of 200 miles per hour. The buzz in the auction tent was incredible as the bidding began to cross million-dollar thresholds, the crowd erupting when it slammed through last year's $4.1 million record. "It's one-of-a-kind and the only one like it," Shelby said. "It's special car."

Indeed it was. The Super Snake was Shelby's personal car and the lone survivor of just two built. The other one was sold to entertainer Bill Cosby, who was so intimidated by its speed that he returned it after one day. The second owner, Tony Maxey, lost control of it and went
over a cliff to his death, leaving Shelby's car as the lone Super Snake in the world.

It was a day of superstars at Barrett-Jackson, in terms of people, cars and prices. Saturday is always the biggest day at the event, and this one shattered attendance and price records as the action was fast and furious all day long, with the auction tent jammed.
This 1993 HUMMER H1 "CNN'S Warrior One" sold for a cool Million, with the proceeds going to the Fisher House Foundation. (Photo: Barrett-Jackson) » More Photos

Beatles producer George Martin auctioned off one of John Lennon's pianos for $345,000 and one of George Harrison's 12-string guitars for $51,750, two-time NASCAR champ Tony Stewart bought a vintage pickup truck and Hall of Fame slugger and muscle-car lover Reggie Jackson made one of his customary appearances at the event. Edsel Ford was on hand to auction off a custom Ford roadster for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, and Ford Motor Co. donated the proceeds from the $660,000 sale of the first production 2007 Shelby GT to Shelby's Foundation.

While Shelby's Cobra set the high-water mark, it was not the only car to shatter the $1 million mark. Twin 1954 Dodge Firearrow roadsters, dream cars created by the legendary Chrysler design guru Virgil Exner, each sold for $1.1 million, as did a CNN Hummer that saw action in the Gulf war. The Hummer's proceeds also went to a good cause, the Fisher House Foundation that benefits families of injured military personnel.