Monterey Motorsports Reunion to feature the Shelby Cobra

The Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion, part of Monterey weekend heaven for car guys, will honor the 50th anniversary of the Shelby Cobra on Aug. 17-19.

A variety of activities will be held at the track, but none are as fun as the dedicated Shelby Cobra race. This year's event will feature a grid of 45 authentic series CSX 2000 and 3000 Shelby Cobras, a list culled from 60 entries.

The Cobras will slither in from the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada and across the United States. Officials say each car was picked because of its racing provenance, mechanical authenticity and period-correctness in appearance. Between 1962 and 1967, only 998 Shelby Cobras were built.

After the race, all participants plus almost 150 more will park in the Cobra Corral. There will be space for 2000 and 3000 models, along with continuation cars. Even replica cars will find a home.

The Cobras will be joined by 16 other race groups, with nearly every era being represented. Group 1A will feature a 1907 Renault Vanderbilt Cup car, while the later groups will feature more recent sheetmetal such as the 1990 Ford Thunderbird.

General-admission tickets cost $50, and a three-day pass costs $130 and includes a complimentary souvenir magazine. For more information, visit www.mazdaraceway.com or call (800) 327-7322.

Monterey car week is packed with car shows, vintage racing and car auctions. Autoweek will be there providing streaming photo galleries and live coverage of the Pebble Beach Concours, historic racing at Laguna Seca, the Monterey car auctions and plenty more. Go to autoweek.com/pebblebeach for complete coverage and live updates.

By Jake Lingeman