Fine art print red 427 Cobra at Laguna on canvas 16" x 20"

Up for grabs is a 16x20 embellished giclee on canvas depicting a red 427 Cobra in the pits at the 2012 Monterey Rolex event from a front 3/4 view by artist Wallace A. Wyss.

 

Sold

Super-realism style.

Measures 16" x 20" gallery wrapped around the edges of a wood frame.

This one is "embellished" which means that a print was first made on canvas and then the artist repainted it all over again.  Embellishing is old tradition that goes back to the origins of printmaking.  This piece is truly captivating in all three dimensions with distinct textures and bristles adding a unique and personal touch.

$350 USD plus Shipping.  Please contact sales@cobra-ranch.com for all inquiries. 

Carroll Shelby: The Authorized Biography – Book Review

by Wallace Wyss

 

 

 

            It was a long time coming; a near complete authorized biography of a giant in American sports car circles, Carroll Hall Shelby.  The author is a surprising choice, British author Rinsey Mills, surprising only because in a couple of his earlier books on Shelby he seemed of the opinion that the British side of the AC Cobra story wasn’t being given due credit, a common failing among British automotive historians who sometimes say A.C. did most of it until that cowpoke came along.  In this book he gives Shelby full credit for the idea of the Cobra.  This book is a step-by-step walk through Shelby’s life starting out as a farm boy in a small town near Dallas.  Mills had full access to not only Shelby, but Shelby’s lifelong friends, former employees, race drivers, business partners and even ex-wives.

            He is brutally frank in some areas, such as during the Series 1 Olds debacle, trying to fathom why Shelby persisted in making the car even though he was physically not up to it at the time and there were early signs that GM support could evaporate at any moment.  The book is best in the Le Mans racing segments, where he tells the simultaneous story of the Cobras and the GT40s racing. This reviewer has wrestled with the same thing–basically covering two very different kinds of cars–and concluded it’s easier to understand if you have separate chapters on the Cobras and GT40s. Mills took the more common approach, since they were both in the same races at the same time.  He doesn’t tell much about the personalities of the competition, for example the enigmatic Jim Hall, the young man that Shelby taught to race, and how Hall came back to haunt the Ford GT40 effort with his technically more advanced Chaparrals but he does paint a good portrait of Enzo Ferrari as a worthy adversary.

            The length of the book shows that Mills was trying to show that he could research more in depth on his subject than any author has done heretofore and that makes for fascinating reading at times but only occasionally drags, for example in over-coverage on Africa. He does establish Shelby had a game ranch there but goes on for several pages of mini-histories of various African countries and their rulers and that gets pretty far afield from Shelby, Cobras, and Mustangs and fans of those cars are the primary customers for doing a Shelby book.

            Surprising to this author was his close-up view of Shelby’s wooing of a TV actress while he was still married, surprising because this is “authorized” by Carroll Shelby. Hard to take because his wife Jeanne emerges as a noble woman who was forced to confront that situation (they got divorced, he married the TV star and shortly after divorced her). I am glad it’s in there because it presents a more complete picture of a man who, by most accounts, has lived the lives of six men, not just one.

            The role of various people in Shelby’s life becomes more in focus with Mills’ book, such as the role of Jacque Passino, a Ford racing czar. I had thought Passino came in only later in the GT40 period but Mills says Passino was one of those paving the way for Ford to fund the Cobra. Phil Remington is described numerous times as a key character. Remington was the mechanic who many times came up with last minute fixes on the Cobras and GT40s.  The threat that Holman Moody would take away a bit of Shelby’s empire in the racing days is well presented here though Mills never describes the people behind the name, Holman Moody.  Mills does a good job describing Shelby’s engaging personality, how a rural farm boy from Texas could go to Italy and learn Italian and drive race cars in several countries because he could get people to believe in him, to support his dream.

            The book weighs two pounds and is a whopping 552 pages. And yet has only about 32 pages of pictures, not even 10% of the total number of pages. Now the pictures are interesting, some not seen before from his youth, but I wonder if they will meet the expectations of Cobra fans who want to see every model: the wide hip, the narrow hip, the USRRC, the FIA and on and on. It won’t; and I expect you will have to buy another book to satisfy those needs. And though as an artist, I like Bill Neale’s paintings of Cobras, I wonder why he included several Neale paintings when pictures of the same cars are still available. True, the Neale paintings strike a mood, but many buyers of car books like pictures that help them make their model cars or replica cars more realistic and a painting can’t give you much guidance there.

Tony Parravano's Scaglietti-bodied Ferrari 121LM with Hans Tanner

at the Modena autodrome in Italy.

I thought, since the book is being published in 2012, that it would carry right through to the latest Shelby models, but it becomes vague soon after it discusses Shelby coming back to work with Ford, as if the author didn’t want to get buried in the multiplicity of models that has come out of the Shelby works and Ford since 2007. That’s okay when you remember that this book is a titled as a biography, so don’t expect a list of models with a discussion of the features and options. Maybe in the long view of history they are almost too new to be considered part of history.

            In sum, Carroll Shelby: The Authorized Biography by Rinsey Mills has set a tough standard for any future books on Shelby the man because he covers so many areas so thoroughly there’s almost nothing else anyone could add, no new area to shine light on. As far as technical areas, there will be minor quibbles, easily straightened out if he submits the work to various experts in each marquee. For instance, at one point he says Shelby was the one who got the flaws in the Pantera corrected, while it was actually Bill Stroppe in the West and Holman Moody in the East. A larger question is (and the sales figures will show what direction any future books should go) do Shelby fans want weighty tomes that are almost all words like this book, or do they prefer glossy picture books like Colin Comer’s Shelby and Cobra tomes?

            I think they want both. I think Mills will sell as many of these as Comer does his books. You need both kinds of books for your Shelby library if you want your library to be more complete. In racing scholarship, it doesn’t go near as far as The Cobra-Ferrari Wars by Mike Shoen but then Shoen doesn’t discuss Shelby’s life prior to the Cobra or go that much into after the Cobra. We’re glad to see that Mills’ biography got published while Shelby was still there to add to it and to steer the author to sources who could come up with a lot of information that’s new. The best part is the price. With a suggested retail price of $35.00 (and lower online), the price represents a real bargain for a book that will take you a whole weekend to read.

–

Carroll Shelby: The Authorized Biography

Author: Rinsey Mills
Publisher: Motorbooks; First edition (April 2012)
Format: Hardcover, 9.5″ x 6.375″, 552 pages
Photos: 25 color and 40 b/w
ISBN-10: 0760340560 ; ISBN-13: 978-0760340561
Price: starting at $22

Dukes up, MSN! We Take Your Writer To Task On His List of the 10 Most Significant Cobras

By Wallace Wyss


James Tate, a writer for MSN Autos, started a firestorm in late August, 2012  when he authored an article on his employer's website declaring his opinion on the Ten Most Significant Cobras Ever Built.

We quote his entire list, exactly as we found it:



CSX 2345 FIA Cobra Roadster
Starting off the list, this roadster, serial number CSX 2345, earned five Federation Internationale de L'Automobile wins as part of the first American team to take home the prestigious FIA World Manufacturers Championship. It was driven by Phil Hill, Bob Bondurant, Roy Salvadori, and Sir John Whitmore, among others. It was one of the five Roadsters built for FIA competition with a 289 cubic-inch engine, only two of which remain around today.



CSX 2431 USRRC Cobra Roadster
Sporting the now iconic color combination of white stripes on blue, this is probably the most recognizable Cobra in history. CSX2431 is the 1964 289 Cobra Roadster that Ken Miles raced exclusively — barring one event — in the USRRC series. It is cited as the chassis that helped Shelby America develop most of the components it would later use to win a variety of domestic and international championships, like sway bars, springs, and the Weber manifold setup.



CSX 2128 Sebring Cobra Roadster
Driven by Dan Gurney and Ken Miles, this badass snake appeared on the cover of the album "Hey Little Cobra" in 1964, which was recorded by legendary surf-sound pioneers, The Rip Chords. Two were built for the 1963 12 Hours of Sebring, and they were among the first Cobras to carry rack-and-pinion steering along with the now famous 289 cubic-inch motor.



CSX 2427 Cobra 289 Dragonsnake
Dragonsnakes are among the rarest competition Cobras ever produced. Built exclusively for drag racing, only six were ever assembled with Ford's 289-cu-in V8 engine. Of these, only two left the factory with the Stage III-D competition engines. Even more importantly, this is the only one still left in existence. Not only that, but this is one of only two yellow and Weber-carburetor inducted Cobras ever sold.



CSX 2299 Daytona Coupe
In 1963, Shelby American realized the need for a more aerodynamic version of the 289 Cobra Roadster to keep up with the sleek Ferrari 250 GTO. The end result was the first and only American built FIA GT World Champion. The CSX 2299 was the second coupe built, the first completed at Carrozzeria Gransport in Modena, Italy, and has the best race pedigree of the group, winning the 24 Hours of LeMans, 12 Hours of Sebring, the Daytona Continental 24 Hours, and the 1965 FIA GT World Championship.



CSX 2026 Cobra Roadster
No Cobra better illustrates the changes that transformed the outdated Ace roadster into a Cobra capable of winning races against the best sports cars in the world than CSX 2026, the very first Cobra to win a race (Riverside in February, 1963) as well as a national championship. It is powered by a 260 cu-in 300 horsepower engine fitted with four Weber carburetors. Plus, it sports a myriad of rare and competition features including the Nassau-style headers, competition windshield kit, alloy brake calipers, and more.



CSX 2002 Cobra Roadster
The first Shelby factory racer and the third Cobra ever built, this snake, serial number CSX 2002, went through an exhaustive 2,800-hour restoration in 1977. The 2002 emerged with an estimated 95 percent of its original frame and around 85 percent of its original body along with a slew of original equipment like the "Flamethrower" ignition, roll bar, and instruments. Even the gas cap is original.



CSX 3017 Cobra
This is one of only 16 full-competition 427 Supersnake Cobras sold to the public. Fitted with a NASCAR-spec V8 engine, the 427 puts out an absurd 550 horsepower. The CSX 3017 (when the larger 427 cu-in engine was used, chassis numbers jumped from 2000 to 3000) was raced by Ford Canada team driver George Eaton in the '60s, and survives today with its original body intact.



CSX 4000 Cobra
The first reproduction of the Shelby Cobra, CSX 4000 gave birth to the kit-car legions of Cobras all over the U.S. and has become the most replicated car in history. Offering the everyman a chance to drive his own legend, CSX 4000 brought the horsepower to the people in a big way and stands as a testament to the difference between "fashion" and "style." Just about every Cobra you've ever seen (unless you're very lucky) is a copy of this "original clone".



Cobra #1: The Daddy
The first production Shelby Cobra, which debuted at the 1962 New York Auto Show, Cobra #1 raced through Europe during the mid-'60s, leading a charge of American power into international auto racing while cutting a swath through dejected Corvette drivers from coast to coast back home in the States. Carroll Shelby set out to combine overwhelming American horsepower with the handling and braking prowess of the British sports cars of the era. Shelby Cobra #1 is a timeless distillation of one man's dream."

Regarding Mr. Tate’s choices, I got a few bones to pick. Maybe he meant to write the title as “Ten Most Significant Cobras at Monterey,”  but the title says in plain words "ever built," and in the second paragraph he says  "Here we bring you the 10 most significant Shelby cars ever to roll off an assembly line."

CSX2196, the Flip Top Cobra

 

Well, Mr. Tate, I expect you expected some criticism of your choices and here's mine. First,  I would have had more 427s. While it’s true that the  289 cars won more races; however, the 427, for some years, was the ultimate American-engined road car.  The MSN author left off CSX2196 aka "Flip Top" which that was the start of the 427 Cobra. It would be a more interesting car to me if it had kept the bodywork it had when crashed at Sebring by Miles.

 

 

Regarding CSX3017 I doubt 550 hp. Maybe that could be accomplished today with more modern parts but I've seen factory spec sheets that quote a hp. figure of 485 hp.

for the Full Comp car.

 

Supercharged 1966 Shelby Twin Paxton

 

 

And why didn't Tate include the twin Paxton car, the one that Shelby owned himself and built for himself; later owned by Jimmy Webb the songwriter. What made that car significant was that it was a case of the originator of the Cobra building a hell-for-leather kick-ass Cobra just for himself, so I think that should be included, regardless of how little development the package  had (the owner of a duplicate car managed to let his get away from him and died at the wheel as a result).

 

Ken Miles in CSX 3002 at Lakeside 1965

 

I would have replaced 3017 on his list with 3002  which had a  more significant race history than 3017.   I would have left out any of the 4000 series cars on the grounds that they were not built “in the original era.” I would have put in at least one of the ’63 LeMans cars, the first that finished because it is significant for a brand new marque to be able to finish the famous LeMans 24 hour.

 

Finally to say that the Daytona coupe "won LeMans" is mis-leading to those who don't realize that there are class winners and overall race winners. At first glance you're making it sound like Daytonas won LeMans, Sebring and Daytona when you may be referring to a win in class, which is a long ways from winning the race (like winning one battle in a war but that still doesn't mean you won the war). Also I would have listed the first Daytona Cobra made only because--when it  proved to be faster than the roadsters in testing--Shelby made the decision based on that lap time to build more. If it would have been a dog, one car would have been all she wrote. In car collecting the very first and very last are usually worth more than a car made in the middle of a particular model run. The key word is "significance," and when the first of something works, that first one becomes more significant if said device goes into production.

 

Our conclusion: it's great that you are a Cobra enthusiast but research trumps (if you need a bibliography, I'll be glad to send one...)

 

Cheers,

--------------------------
WALLACE WYSS is the author of SHELBY: The Man, the Cars, The Legend
now in its second edition (Iconografix, Hudson, WI)