Rooted in the brilliant racing career and boundless grit of its creator Carroll Shelby, the Shelby Cobra is unquestionably one of the most important high-performance American cars of the 20th century.

It singlehandedly vaulted Ford Motor Company’s corporate racing program onto the international stage with its dominance over archrival Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the 1960s.

Under Shelby’s leadership, and with the help of Ken Miles, Phil Remington, Pete Brock, and other racing luminaries of the period, Ford-powered Cobras won virtually anywhere and everywhere they raced.

Brutally fast and dead-reliable, the Cobra took the US Manufacturer’s Championship three years running—1963, 1964, and 1965—and with the sleek Pete Brock-designed Daytona Coupe bodywork, Shelby American Inc.

won the hotly contested 1965 FIA World Manufacturer’s Championship.

Uncompromising and fiercely aggressive on the racetrack, the 289 Cobra with its 289-cubic-inch V-8 was an instant icon, yet Shelby kne...