It seems odd, but during the 1960s when so many American automakers were obsessed with drag racing, Carroll Shelby was building his road-racing Cobras with much success. Yet for a very short while, even Shelby was bit by the drag racing bug, modifying six of his Cobras specifically for drag racing. Of these six Cobras, which Shelby called “Dragonsnakes”, five were outfitted with small-block Ford V8 engines.

And that last one? Well, it got the big daddy of big-block Ford engines, a 427 side-oiler with all the bells and whistles you can imagine. This incredibly rare ride will be on display at next year’s Concours d’Elegance of Texas. You won’t get many chances to see this ride in person.

The Dragonsnake was designed as the ultimate Shelby drag racer, equipped with a Traction-Lok differential, 4:86 gears, a scattershield, and drag racing-specific shocks. Gus Zuidema, a service manager at a Ford dealership, drove one of the small-block Dragonsnakes, and was so impressed he ordered one for himself…albeit with the 427 big-block.

With a 12.5:1 compression ratio, a high-rise aluminum intake manifold, drag headers, and an 850 cfm carburetor, Gus was able to run a 10.02 @ 146 mph in his Dragonsnake. Of course this car didn’t come cheap, reportedly costing nearly $11,000 at a time when a Mustang GT could be had for less than half that. The last time this big-block Dragonsnake sold at auction it brought $484,000.

It is currently owned by Sam Pack, who will be bringing it out of his car collection for a rare public appearance. If you’re going to be in Texas around May 5th, we highly recommend going out of your way to see this rare ride.