Not Ranked
No prizes for guessing which one I voted for.
This is an esteemed group, the cream of the crop of Cobra roadsters. I would add a few others: the aforementioned CSX2000, Don Roberts' 289 racer (claimed to be the winningest Cobra of all, I believe), and Dick Smith's 427.
I would still have to vote for 2196. It has an allure that is somewhat inexplicable; just do a search on this forum using "Flip Top" and look at the kind of response a discussion about it invariably produces. Cobra enthusiasts seem drawn to it like proverbial moths to a flame. It's not that the car has a stellar racing history like many of the others on the list. Rather, IMHO it represents the blueprint for what many would consider the "ultimate" roadster. Combine that with the fact that the car was basically hand-built by none other than Mr. Miles, and the well-documented whuppin' the car laid on the Grand Sports at Nassau (before it broke, anyway), and you've got a desirable recipe.
If Rich Mason wanted to sell the car, I'll bet he'd see pretty astounding results if he waited for an event like the 40th anniversary of Shelby winning the GT World Championship (2005), advertised the car heavily, then put it up for auction at Monterey or perhaps the Barrett-Jackson...anybody want to donate a few million bucks to a fellow CC member?
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