A championship winning 1965 Shelby Cobra Coupe CSX2601 has sold for a record $7.25m.

The owners had hoped to raise between $10m and $15m at the Mecum Spring Classic car auction in Indianapolis in May but bidding had stalled at $6.8m.

So instead the owners entered the car at a Monterey auction where it sold for the record $7.25m.

The owners commented "We didn't make as much as we should have, but it was still a profitable deal... it was the right time with the economy the way it is"

However the $7.25m price tag still set a record for the highest priced American car at auction.

The car was originally built by Carroll Shelby in 1965 to offer competition to the mighty Ferrari's in the GT class World Manufacturer's Championship.

Much of the $7.25m hammer price is due to the fact there are only six known examples of this classic Shelby Cobra.

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