1963 Shelby Cobra Owned By Steve McQueen Heading To Auction

Steve McQueen rose to fame thanks to his acting prowess, with a bit of an “antihero” style that endeared him to many in the 1960s and 1970s, earning McQueen the nickname “The King of Cool.” However, McQueen was also a big time car guy and race car driver, which helped him become quite popular with automotive enthusiasts around the globe – popularity that endures to this very day, making pretty much anything he touched worth a ton of money. Now, that list will most likely soon include McQueen’s 1963 Shelby Cobra.

This 1963 Shelby Cobra was indeed driven by Steve McQueen for a period of around two years, and now, it’s set to be auctioned off at Mecum’s upcoming Monterey sale, taking place on August 16^th. Shelby number CSX2161 wound up in McQueen’s possession in 1965 and remained there until late 1967, and was originally finished in silver with a red interior, coupled with the Class A Accessories package – which added a bevy of chrome parts throughout.

The Shelby Cobra was originally sold to Wolper Productions of Los Angeles and registered to noted film producer David L. Wolper, who produced such films and documentaries as Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, The Thorn Birds, Roots, and L.A. Confidential. It continued its star-studded journey after being sold to conductor and compose Elmer Bernstein, who then loaned it to McQueen, who he was friends with at the time. Even after Wolper sold the Cobra, McQueen hung onto it for several months before the new owner finally took it home, in fact.

Since then, the 1963 Shelby Cobra has changed hands a few more times, and has been repainted a couple of times as well. In its current iteration, the sports car has a black exterior, but it still retains its original body and engine, regardless, and is fitted with an FIA-style roll bar on the driver’s side, a set of 15×6.5-inch FIA Halibrand wheels, a hood scoop, and chrome quick jacks. Listed in the Shelby Registry and accompanied by loads of documentation, this particular Shelby Cobra seems destined to command big money at auction – even more than the average Cobra, which is already worth a considerable sum of money on its own accord. In fact, we’ve seen this happen recently with other Cobras owned by celebrities such as Rush drummer Neil Peart and even Ford CEO Jim Farley.

We’ll have more cool auction finds like this to share soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for more Shelby Cobra news and continuous Ford news coverage.