Herbie Hancock's 1963 Shelby Cobra Has Been Sitting for Decades, It's a Rare Time Capsule

Carroll built various iterations of the lightweight roadster through 1967. However, production remained scarce over those six years, totaling only 998 units. All told the Cobra is a rare and expensive gem regardless of its configuration, and it's among the most replicated classic cars out there.

Not surprisingly, the Cobra was favored by celebrities back in the day. Both Elvis Presley and Steve McQueen owned Cobras, as did Bill Cosby. The comedian received one of the two Super Snakes ever built as a gift from Carroll but returned almost immediately, frightened of the vehicle's enormous power and uncontrollable nature. He recounted the experience in his 1968 comedy album "200 MPH."

Noted jazz musician and composer Herbie Hancock was also among the artists who purchased a Cobra in the early days. Interestingly enough, Herbie bought one without knowing much about cars. He was planning on purchasing a station wagon for his band with the royalties he made from "Watermelon Man," but ended up getting a Cobra by following a friend's advice.

Unlike other early Cobra owners, Hancock still has the roadster, which makes him the longest-time owner of a Shelby sports car. What's more, he owns one of the first Cobras ever made, sporting serial number CSX2006. The car is unique and estimated to be worth millions.

Powered by a 260-cubic-inch (4.3-liter) V8 engine, it's one of only 75 units fitted with this powertrain. However, Herbie's vehicle is the only Cobra equipped with a two-barrel carburetor. This feature and the fact that the car is still highly original more than 60 years later led experts to evaluate it at more than $2 million.

Hancock stopped driving the Cobra regularly sometime in the early 2000s. The roadster was featured on Jay Leno's Garage in 2021 after sitting for about 20 years. Since then, it's been parked in one of his friends' garages in Los Angeles. So, apart from its trip to Jay Leno, this car has been sitting for about 23 years. Tom Cotter of Hagerty's "Barn Find Hunter" series was recently granted access to the Cobra for a full walkaround.

While not as spectacular as the 427 or the Super Snake performance-wise, this Cobra 260 is definitely sports car royalty. Still sporting most of the original features it got from the factory, it's a fully-fledged time capsule. And most likely one of the best-preserved early Cobras out there.

And here's another interesting fact about this rig: it was built so early in the production run that Carroll Shelby didn't even put it together. This roadster was built by Ed Hugus in Pennsylvania. Hit the play button below for an up-and-close walkaround of this rare gem.