Museum to give away Hollywood roadster
If you are like me, when “Ford v Ferrari” raced into theaters last summer, you moved fast to grab a seat in your local multiplex. There, larger than life, we gearheads drank in the high-octane story of Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles as they took on Ferrari at the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans.
While the movie experience was thrilling, even better would be to jump behind the wheel of one of those race cars and relive this big-screen drama. Now you may be able to, thanks to a museum's fundraiser.
Called the Cobra Experience, the museum is located in northern California and it is dedicated to sharing and preserving the Shelby legacy and the legendary cars his company created. Donations to the museum enter contestants in a sweepstakes to win a 427 MKIII Cobra used in the movie.
This Cobra shows up in the numerous airplane hangar scenes, a space in which Shelby, played by actor Matt Damon, is operating out of at the Los Angeles airport.
The prize roadster is a licensed re-creation, which started off as a rolling chassis built by Superformance, a company in Irvine, California. From there, it headed to final assembly at Cobra Performance in Martinez, California. Just as it did in the flick, the Cobra wears Indigo Blue paint and Wimbledon White LeMans stripes. Other exterior highlights include chrome trim and original-style 15-inch Halibrand Wheels, with those distinct three-ear knock-off spinners. Behind them are four-piston Wilwood disc brakes.
Up front is a Roush 427-cubic-inch V-8 engine, delivering 510 horsepower. It breathes through silver, ceramic-coated side pipes and is paired to a Tremec five-speed manual transmission. The ready-to-race powertrain comes with a two-year or 24,000-mile limited warranty.
Inside, it's all business with two low-back bucket seats, a wood-rimmed steering wheel and not much else. The name of the game is speed with a car like this and creature comforts are naturally going to be left out.
To be eligible, contestants need only to make a donation to the nonprofit museum from now until June 6. That's when the museum will host its sixth annual Cobra Day Car Show and announce the lucky winner. For details, visit www.cobraexperience.org.
While the giveaway car is a reproduction, the museum, which opened in 2014, showcases real-deal originals. On display are a wide variety of high performers that passed through the Shelby doors, including Cobras, King Cobras, Mustangs, Sunbeam Tigers and a Lotus. In addition, there's tons of memorabilia, engines and even a staged shop scene of how the Shelby American workshop would have looked in the 1960s.
Share your car's story with Matt at auto@dailyherald.com.