The 1965 Essex Wire Cobra in Photos

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Racing’s famed Essex Wire Cobra, a 1965 Shelby 427 Competition Cobra Roadster, will be offered through Mecum Auctions on January 18.

After Ken Miles tested the car, it was campaigned from 1965 through 1982.

Under the hood is Ford’s thundering 427-cubic-inch big-block, side-oiler V-8.

The simple, no-frills racing livery was limited to just a single Raven Black stripe with orange borders and “Essex Wire” in black letters on each side.

After its remarkable motorsport career, chassis No. CSX3009 was given an exhaustive, five-year, no-expense-spared restoration and returned to its original Essex Wire racing spec.

Ed Lowther driving chassis No. CSX3009 in the 1966 Governor’s Cup Nationals.

Racing the Essex Wire Cobra in period.

In its day, the car won two SCCA National Championships and an SCCA Production Championship, along with garnering numerous individual race victories.

The new owner of the Essex Wire Cobra will also get a highly detailed 1:5 scale model of the car, created by master-modeler Jorge Sordelli.