3rd winningest Shelby Cobra 289 - The San Diego Union-Tribune
It is the cars that pull us into a cruise night or a weekend show, but behind every beauty in the row is a story. Hank Williams (not the country crooner) is almost as well-known as his car, a 1965 289 Cobra. Longtime friend and associate of Carroll Shelby, Williams and his Cobra were at a place of honor near the entrance to the show. He bought the roadster new – No. CSX-2227 – with a race engine and race suspension. The car is considered to be one of the three “winningest” Cobras, he said. Williams said its 5. 0 liter V-8 was way underrated at 340-hp – “for insurance purposes,” he said, “but I guarantee it’s way past that. “One day Carroll called to ask if I wanted to go with him to Wally Park’s hot-rod museum,” Williams said. Carroll asked if I wanted it,” he said. • The only original and privately owned Cobra to be on display for the opening of the Shelby American Museum at the Las Vegas Speedway (1994). • First Cobra to be driven on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway by an African-American. • One of only two African Americans to own a Cobra from new. The car has racked up 441 trophies and Williams says he has the largest collection of signed Carroll. Source: www.sandiegouniontribune.com
