Franklin Mint 1965 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C Elvis Presley Version LE 1500

If I ever decided that The Franklin Mint had made enough variations of the beautiful 1:24th scale 427 Cobra, I would have missed out on one of their very best variants. I almost completely forgot that Elvis Presley drove Shelby’s masterpiece little hot rod in the movie, “Spinout”. Filmed in period conceptuality, in 1966, Elvis plays Mike McCoy, a race driver, slash, singer. Elvis’s performance may have stolen the hearts of many young girls in the film but it was the car that I recall fondly.

Franklin did great justice to the little number eleven. They recreated it in all white, save for the red number bullseye with 11 painted in black. The race wheels are white, the side pipes match and the race ‘bumperettes', side fender vents and rollbar are black. TFM did a brilliant job of plugging up windshield holes with separately fashioned pieces as they relocated the rearview mirror to the center and replaced the windshield with a driver’s race screen.

You’ll find a leather helmet head brace attached to the rollbar with its equivalent used as seat belts. Racing buckle-ends of photo-etch metal attach to the racing harness. The engine features a single carb surrounded by the “turkey pan” air box, black valve covers and plug wires. Even the fuel pump, in the trunk, is finely wired. The suspension is realistically functional and the chassis exhibits grand detailing.

The front and rear emblems are metal foiled and Elvis’s replicated signature and the license plate reading, “Spinout” helps make the piece very appealing. Oh, and if that isn’t quite enough, how about a gorgeous little black and yellow guitar with leather strap? Very nice; and dare I say, the little model is fit for a King! Thank you, thank you very much.

-Tony F perrone