Photos: Matt Stone/Inspired Communications

Those of us who grew up in the 1960s and 1970s loved the Cobra. It was the epitome of the V8 swap into a little car, and one that had taken what was an okay roadster – the AC Ace – and made it a contender in the sports car world. This otherwise plain little roadster may not have ever made a real name for itself in the States had Carroll Shelby not borrowed it for his Cobra.

We’ve shared stories in the past of a low-mileage original, as well as an original owner who refuses to sell his dream car – and who can blame Mr. Williams?  In the early years when Shelby was merely stabbing a Ford mill into the tiny AC Ace, it was cool, but still needed some improvements.

That’s when Shelby took the original design of the Ace and put it on a steroid hormone treatment that would bulge the fenders, reshape the front opening, and give the Cobra a real presence. One that became so popular, the Cobra is the most copied vehicle in the kit car world, with dozens of companies providing kits from damn near identical twins to what-were-you-thinking knockoffs.

But what is the value of a Cobra today? We’ve seen examples go for about a million bucks, like a barn find that had been sitting for 40 years collecting dust. The first production Cobra, VIN CSX2001, made a presence a few years back and it was quite a hit.

But what about the very first Shelby Cobra ever? You know, the prototype that has VIN CSX2000, Carroll’s personal car. Would you expect that car to bring a couple million bucks? Well, one owner felt it was worth far more than that, and the $12.5 million selling price at Sotheby’s auction in Monterey put this Cobra into the stratosphere of collector car prices.

It was noted that early suggestions put the car at $15 million – possibly even $20 million – but that was reaching a bit, even by today’s ridiculous pricing standards for rare, collector cars. Still, to think that Carroll Shelby’s very first car to launch him into the forever spotlight that may never cast such a shadow again would leave the Shelby Trust and fall into private hands is a bit disappointing.

Perhaps it’s worth it to the new owner; but let’s face it – at that price it’s no longer an investment and is simply a conversation piece encrusted with enormous bragging rights. How much do you think it would have to sell for to break even if he held on to it for a year or two? Most of us could live quite comfortably off the interest alone from that 12.5 million bucks.

Carroll Shelby had said he would never sell the car while he was alive, but since his passing the car fell into the Trust and was left to its executives and Shelby’s heirs to keep it or hand it off. What do you think – should it have stayed with the Shelby Trust indefinitely, or let the automotive world have a shot at one of the most significant American sports cars in history? Tell us below what you think.