The AC Cobra that is thought to be the most raced is coming to auction with Bonhams|Cars at its Goodwood Revival sale on Saturday 13 September.
Registered 13 COB, the 1963/65 Cobra Hardtop Coupé has the chassis CS 2131 that began life as the AC Cars’ works entry to Le Mans in 1963 and ran the registration number 39 PH. It went on to finish the 24-hour race in seventh overall and first in class.
The car was then acquired by John Willment and raced at Goodwood, Oulton Park, and Aintree. A crash in the hands of Frank Gardner at the Nürburgring necessitated a chassis change to a 1964 frame. The Duke of Hamilton and then four subsequent owners before it landed with Martin Colvill, who campaigned it in many events.
Chassis ‘CS 2131A’, as it was later designated by the AC Owners Club in recognition of its chassis’ origin, was acquired by the present vendor in 2005.
As it comes to auction, 13 COB remains one of the most original surviving competition AC Cobras, retaining not only its original chassis but also its original body throughout its life and competition career.
It’s described as a genuinely historic racing artefact. It has been fastidiously maintained to the correct FIA homologation specification and FIA Appendix K regulations, without recourse to non-period modifications.
Mark Osborne, Vice President, Global Head of Motorsport at Bonhams|Cars, said: ‘I recall as a boy (Canon AE-1 in hand) seeing the Bell & Colvill Cobra in action. It’s been a part of British motor racing lore for as long as I can remember. A recent test at the Goodwood Motor Circuit in West Sussex revived those rip-roaring memories. To be a part of this famous racing car’s illustrious history is a thrill and an honour – and one that my younger self would have been giddy even to think of.’
Image courtesy of Bonhams|Cars
