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Shelby Surprise: Phantom Cobra hits streets with custom paint scheme and 725 hp

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#1 ·
April 11, 2003
AutoWeek
By ANDREW LUU

How to surprise a man who has seen and done just about everything there is to do when it comes to motoring? Dream up a custom paint scheme for his 60s-era trademark automobile and throw a supercharger under the vehicle’s skin.
Scott Sanderson set out on that task for Caroll Shelby’s 80th birthday, starting with a Shelby trademark, Cobra 427 S/C and 289 small block body style roadsters, and proceeded to find the means to give the vehicles a custom paint job that included an image of a cobra faintly etched somewhere on the vehicle's skin. He then dubbed the special edition "Phantom Cobra" and is limiting production to 10 vehicles.

“I didn’t want to completely redo the whole car, just a subtle touch yet make it very distinctive,” Sanderson, president of Sanderson Sales and Marketing in Plano, Texas, says of the project. Realizing the exterior had never been “exploited” beyond the addition of dual racing stripes, that’s where he started.

For the Phantom Cobra project, Sanderson commissioned car artist Kenny Vaughn. Vaughn’s reskin begins with the customer’s choice of metallic paint color and takes four months to complete. The project’s kicker, however, is a has a dark silver outline of a phantom cobra embedded into the paint job.

“It is so understated, that at first glance most people think it is an imperfection in the paint,” Sanderson said. For many, noticing the snake will take a second glance or more.
In addition to picking color, the owner chooses the location of the car-door-sized cobra etching, such as hood or passenger door. The same graphic is etched into the steering wheel hub. To finish off design package, Phantom Cobra badging adorns the car in addition to Shelby’s autograph, which is placed in a different location on each car. Each of the Phantom Cobras get a serial number.

Shelby did more than just sign the car. He had his hand in engineering the modified roadster, with most of his efforts concentrated on the optional bolt-on supercharger for the 427 V8. Still, he didn’t know about the paint scheme until Sanderson was ready to unveil it as a surprise.

“When he saw the car for the first time he fell in love with the car as much as we did,” Sanderson insists.

Maybe Shelby just liked the power promised in this project.

The lightweight aluminum engine list starts with a 289 V8 with between 325 and 420 hp and 430 lb-ft. However, for those who fancy more than 420 ponies, 427 comes with 520 hp single carburetor form, while dual carbs push output to 550 hp. Either option packs 490 lb-ft.

Still not enough? Then opt for said supercharger, which pushes the muscle to 725 hp, a torque peak of 600 lb-ft.

The 289 buyers can order the Phantom Cobra in FIA trim, complete with fender flares, cut back doors and a roll cage. A blower is currently in the works for the 289. The Phantoms ride on a completely new lightweight aluminum chassis and the driver negotiates the power through a Shelby-designed four-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmission. Baer four-wheel disc brakes, side-routed ceramic-coated exhaust outlets complete the package. The vehicle is also loaded with GPS and Internet tracking devices to locate the car and monitor its usage when lent out.

Phantom Cobra No. 01 was built just in time for Shelby’s January 11 birthday and was auctioned off at Barrett-Jackson a week later for $151,500. Prices for the 289 start at $125,000 and the 427 stickers for $150,000 with a portion from each going to Carroll Shelby’s Children’s Foundation. According to Sanderson, five Phantom Cobras have been sold.
 

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#2 ·
The special edition vehicle will don an etching of a phantom cobra somewhere on the exterior.
 

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