An extremely early production Shelby Cobra, chassis CSX 2003, has been consigned to Broad Arrow’s Monterey Jet Center sale this August – offered with an estimate of $1,500,000 to $2,000,000.
Completed in 1962, CSX 2003 was among the first batch of Cobras built not at Shelby’s Venice workshop but at the European Cars dealership in Pittsburgh, owned by James Edward ‘Ed’ Hugus. A trusted friend and accomplished racer, Hugus not only backed Shelby financially but also assembled the initial cars in his own workshop – effectively ensuring Shelby’s vision reached the road before Ford’s official support materialised.
Billed to Shelby American in July 1962 and finished in white with a red interior, CSX 2003 was shipped from AC in England to Hugus’s Pennsylvania base, where Hugus’s team installed Ford’s new 260 cu-in V8 and Borg Warner four-speed gearbox. Period records reveal the car’s pivotal role: it was evaluated by Ford’s Special Vehicles Team – including Henry Ford II – as part of Shelby’s pitch for long-term factory backing.
Following its Ford inspection, CSX 2003 was displayed at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1963 before passing through the hands of respected Cobra collectors and marque specialists. In 1989, it entered the care of its current Virginia-based owner in a remarkable trade for his previous 289 Cobra. Shelby himself later inspected the car at a Ford event in Washington DC, signing the glovebox in a personal nod to the car’s outstanding condition and importance.
Maintained in largely original form – retaining its factory 260 V8 – CSX 2003 has seen careful use, including many years as its owner’s daily driver, before being retired to climate-controlled storage. Now, after 36 years in one family, the car is offered publicly once more, representing a tangible link to the crucial early days of the Cobra legend and Ed Hugus’s often overlooked role in it.
CSX 2003 will cross the block at Broad Arrow’s Monterey Jet Center auction on 13-14 August 2025. For more info, see broadarrowauctions.com.
