1963 AC Shelby Cobra 289 (Chassis no CSX2151) - The “Hairy Canary” is well known and instantly recognisable for its distinctive livery, but fewer people probably have heard its history.  The car has been a competition car all its life and not used as a road car and is one of the few Independent Competition Cobras as verified by the Shelby American Automobile Club (SAAC).  Although it has been restored, due to the limited number of owners it has had and its restriction to racing, it is highly original, carrying many of the car’s original parts including body panels.  The car’s first owner was a young American Dick Neil Jr, who had previously owned a Mk1 Cobra, which he started to drive across the US from the East to the West Coast on his way to living in Hawaii.  Due to to recurring problems with the Mk1 car, Neil had to abandon his long drive and instead shipped the car to Shelby’s California workshop for repair.  In managing Neil’s dissatisfaction, Shelby persuaded him to part exchange the Mk1 for a “brand new 1964 model” - the car was actually fully specced for competition use and not a road car, so it used the new rack and pinion steering, 289 cu inch/4.7 litre engine with extra side vents and racier rear-drive ratios, one of the first Cobras with this set up.  It was actually painted in Vineland Green with a beige interior, as well as having American Racing five-spoke wheels, Weber carburettors, competition scattershield and a roll bar.  Neil shipped the car to Hawaii and entered his first novice race in October 1963, a support race for the Hawaiian Grand Prix in which famous Cobra drivers Ken Miles and Dave McDonald were competing.  Neil was not successful in that first race, but it cemented his enthusiasm to compete and he started a full race programme culminating in a 3rd place in class (5th overall) at the 1964 Hawaiian Grand Prix and a 1st in class (2nd overall) in the following year.  He also set a long-standing lap record for the Hawaii Raceway Park.  It was early in this period that he picked up sponsorship from DynaGlaze and in 1964 had the car painted in its now famous yellow livery, after a small accident.  The colour perhaps echoes that of privateer Allen Grant’s Coventry Motors car, which was a strong challenger to the works run Cobras of the period.  Reputedly Grant’s car livery was originally penned by his friend, George Lucas of later "Star Wars" fame.  It was during that period in Hawaii that the car first picked up the nickname of the “Hairy Canary”.  In 1965 Neil moved to British Columbia and continued to race the car in the North West through to 1972 when he eventually sold it.  The car had another 10 years of racing under two owners and also ended up being painted white, before it was retired and effectively put in to storage for some 20 years before being sold to Bill Bridges, an established British Cobra racer.  He shipped the car to the UK and faithfully restored it to the specification it had in its heyday in Hawaii.  One of its first outings after restoration was at the Goodwood Revival in the RAC TT Celebration Trophy where, despite a snapped accelerator pedal when being driven by Desiré Wilson in qualifying, the car went on to finish in the top 10.  It has raced at the Revival some dozen times in total as well as appearing at numerous historic events Worldwide and has been driven by many other established racing drivers including David Franklin, Brian Redman and Stuart Graham.  It has recently changed ownership again but continues to race.  Pictures here are at the Goodwood Motor Circuit.