Are they:
Originals = NO
Replicas of originals = yes
Real = yes (they are really Cobras as you can drive it and park it in the garage)
Continuation cars = yes
Fantastic to own = yes
Thrilling = yes
An experience to drive = yes
Is Shelby himself involved as he was in the 1960's = please....
I love these questions that are really opinions of those that own them. They can never be answered easily; kind of like the question: How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop? The world may never know!
My feeling is that the CSX cars are
real Shelby's because they are carrying a CSX# which the owner paid dearly for. Not in a sense real because they are rollers as that would open the discussion for SPF, Shamrock, or BDR cars to be real. All replicas are real in a sense as they only represent different levels of replication of the 1960's original aluminum cars built in England. Some are spot on and some are hot rodded versions of the legend.
All are great fun and stress outlets.
I always describe my car as a replication of the original 1965 Cobra built in 1982. Is it real? "Real enough to pass you!" Is it a real Shelby? Nope!
I wonder if I offered Shelby $50k to assign me a CSX#? Bet he would......
