CSX3243, The "Gumball" car at Coronado

[cobra25]

We saw this car at the Monterey Historics this year. My 10 year old son was star struck by the car. He kept wanting to go back and see it again. He would not say much-he would just stare at the car.

[SunDude]

Originally Posted by cobra25

We saw this car at the Monterey Historics this year. My 10 year old son was star struck by the car. He kept wanting to go back and see it again. He would not say much-he would just stare at the car.

Nice to see the Cobra fever passed on from generation to generation.

Nice avatar, by the way... ;-)

[philbo427]

Originally Posted by SunDude

Wow, what a great find! Thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures of the car which quite literally changed my life.

Like many, the first Cobra I ever saw was from "The Gumball Rally" and I've been completely and utterly snake-bitten from that moment on. It's been a lifelong dream (presently realized) to own a Cobra and it was this very car that started it all for me.

What a shame that this car sat locked up and unused for such a long time, but it sure looks to be in fabulous condition.

I wonder what its sister car (CSX3255, then owned by Duane Bower) looks like today. This is the only pic I've ever found of it on the Interwebs:

Last I saw, it was in the July/August 2006 Motor Trend Classic. They had CSX 3255 and 1 of the 2 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytonas used in the movie in the article, serial #14829. The other Daytona went off the road and got totaled supposedly when the stuntmen were filming the night race scene between the Cobra and the Daytona according to Chuck Bail, the producer of the Gumball Rally.

CSX 3255 at the time of the magazine was painted red and had a flat hood with no scoops (even the ones added for extra cooling). It also had added a single hoop roll bar and chrome sidepipes. Car at the time was owned by an undisclosed California business man/attorney in California's central valley. He bought it in 2002. He didn't know it was in the Gumball Rally movie until after he bought it.

Unfortunately I can't scan any pics and couldn't find any pics on the internet.

For me as well. I saw this movie when I was a kid and was hooked on the little blue car. Not until I got older did I find out this little blue car was a Shelby Cobra! Been hooked ever since!

Hope this info helps!

[SunDude]

AHH yes, thanks for reminding me...

That was CSX3255 featured in the Jul-Aug 2006 issue of Motor Trend Classic. I think I might even have this issue in my collection, somewhere. And this article was featured in the spring 2011 edition of The Shelby American too, now that I think of it. Here are a couple pics of CSX3255 from that issue. (And thank goodness the car has lost those gawdawful side pipes from the 1970s.)





With Motor Trend reporter John Kiewicz:

[philbo427]

Too bad they took off the hood, that really made the car unique. In the retro pic, the black with gold rims looked pretty cool, IMO, but yeah, those sidepipes had to go...


So....I wonder where that hood is....might be in the guy's garage somewhere....

[Rick Parker]

There are pictures on FerrraiChat.com of the car at Cars & Coffee Irvine a few months ago.