Mystery solved. Shelby Trust to sell Real Cobras

[David Kirkham]

Originally Posted by RodKnock

Cobras are art, especially a polished Kirkham Cobra.

However, this is not about history, since these cars are being completed in Year 2015. These Shelby Cobras are about M-O-N-E-Y. Nothing more, nothing less. What "this" is about is MARKETING, persuading some very wealthy men and women to part with ALOT of money for another "special edition" (Evan, I won't use that word in this response) with some OEM parts, some reproduction parts and a GREAT BUNCH of present-day parts. And they can't be driven, which to me, is a fatal flaw. The bottom line is that the marque continues to be watered down with anniversary models, special editions, etc.

I doubt (but don't know) the buyers will ever drive them. I think they are art. Art simply for art's sake. Keep in mind Bill has an entire warehouse of cars full to the brim that he doesn't drive. He has so many he built racks to stack them up with a forklift. He looks at them. That's what he likes to do. These buyers have a different perspective than many of us.

Bill owns 30 or 40 of our cars. Even if he drives like Ben Hurr he can only drive two at once. During the day he will burn out a couple of times in a Cobra and then drive his truck home. If you met him you'd think he's just a normal guy--because he is. He just happens to be a keen businessman that serves a difficult niche in California.

[YerDugliness]

Originally Posted by David Kirkham

Many of us have art in our homes. What use is that? Who cares about a rock someone chiseled on or a canvas someone threw some paint against? Many do. Art is beautiful on its own.

David

Originally Posted by David Kirkham

I doubt (but don't know) the buyers will ever drive them. I think they are art. Art simply for art's sake....These buyers have a different perspective than many of us.

Agreed.

There is always something "unique" about an original piece of art that either cannot be replicated or escapes detection. As an example, I was fortunate enough to be able to spend some time within 3' of Van Gogh's "Starry Night", arguably his most famous painting. It has been one of my favorites for most of my life and despite believing that I was very knowlegable about that painting, I found two issues with which I was not familiar.

1. There is a small part of the canvas, roughly ciruclar and smaller than a dime, where there is no paint.

2. That bright yellow "ring" around the moon...unlike all the other strokes on the painting, those rings are heavily impastoed (if that's a verb, which I doubt). That 3-dimensional aspect is totally invisible in a 2 dimensional "replica", no matter how good the replication. It actually looks like the paint was laid on the canvas from a syringe or tube (like toothpaste) and then separated into segments and "ribbed", looks like someone scraped them with a hair pick (one of those old things used for the "afro" hair style).

I have never seen a "replica" of that painting that included those two details.

So...just as with any piece of "art" (as we all believe the Cobra is!!!), there are minute details that may escape detection when the piece is replicated. Does that diminish the pleasure of the "normal" viewer (one who does not require that each and every detail be replicated perfectly for the piece to be a source of pleasure)...most certainly not, I can assure you from personal experience. Do those minute details make the original UNIQUE in some manner that might make it worth a higher price if offered for sale alongside a number of "replications"? Of course....IMHO.

I could understand how those who own those originals created in the 1960's could feel that even a spot-on replication would fall short of their originals in desirability. Why is that? Well, think of how much effort is required to keep any vehicle in show-quality shape...that, alone, separates those originals from the later replications...all those years of loving care, dedicated to the belief that the best Cobra can be only an original (and, we know that's not true because of the advancements in handling and reliability that may of the replicas offer) will matter to those owners...

Many items are replicated...oriental art.....civil war weapons and "buttons"...but the ones that are most valuable are always the ones created "in antiquity". For Cobra lovers, that period of "...antiquity" can only be the years during the 1960s when Shelby was taking a car without a motor and making it into a terror (which, BTW, was NOT the first time that was done...as has been asserted)....Cadillac motors, which were renowned at the time for their power:weight ratio, were installed in "Allard" vehicles. IIRC they were popular in hill-climbing events...it's probably where Shelby got the idea, as you can read here: Allard - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Cheers!

Dugly