How many Shelby Cobras are left in New Zealand?
Unicorn 1 in 4,674,872 on the road Built 1998 American
Updated from the NZTA Motor Vehicle Register, counted as at 31 August 2026. Recounted every month.
Carroll Shelby's idea of 1962: take the light British AC Ace roadster and fit a Ford V8. The result, in 289 and later fearsome 427 form, became one of the most famous sports cars ever made and the most copied. Few originals were built, so most cars wearing the name are later continuation cars or replicas.
Still on the road, by model year
1 from 1998.
What Unicorn means
Spotto grades every car by how many are still registered in New Zealand. With 1 still registered, the Shelby Cobra is Unicorn: the grade for cars with fewer than 5 left.
By how many are left it ranks equal 2,668th of the 2,903 cars in Spotto's catalogue.
The six grades: Common, 8,000 or more · Uncommon, 1,200 to 7,999 · Scarce, 175 to 1,199 · Rare, 25 to 174 · Super rare, 5 to 24 · Unicorn, fewer than 5.
Seen one?
Spotto grades every car on New Zealand roads by how many are still registered, down to the generation and the badge. Log the ones you spot, build a collection, and see who else has found one.