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Daytona Coupe

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64-494: Daytona Coupe may refer to: Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe , one of six race cars designed by Peter Brock and made by Carroll Shelby during the 1960s. Superformance Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe (SPF Coupe), designed by Peter Brock, also known as the "Brock Coupe" (no relation to the Australian race driver of the same name). The Brock Coupe is the only Shelby-licensed continuation of

128-458: A successful GT race car, he realised that the weakness of the open-cockpit sports cars at Le Mans was the aerodynamic drag which limited top speed on the 3.7 miles (6.0 km) long Mulsanne Straight to around 157 miles per hour (253 km/h), nearly 30 miles per hour (48 km/h) less than the Ferrari 250 GTO , which itself could hold speeds of circa 186 miles per hour (299 km/h). Given

192-407: A transverse white stripe across the nose in 1965. In 1964 this car set lap records at Le Mans, Reims and Rouen and the race distance record at Le Mans and Goodwood. In 1965 the car set the lap record at Oulton Park. CSX2299 was the last Daytona coupe sold by Shelby with a Bill of Sale which read "the number one Cobra Daytona coupe". It is currently owned by Larry H. Miller Group and is displayed at

256-638: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Shelby Daytona The Shelby Daytona Coupe (also referred to as the Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe, incorrectly) is an American sports- coupé . It is related to the Shelby Cobra roadster , loosely based on its chassis and drive-train developed and built as an advanced evolution. It was engineered and purpose built for auto racing , specifically to take on Ferrari and its 250 GTO in

320-563: Is voted on by the public. In addition to being the first American car to win the award, the Cobra Daytona Coupe is also the first American car nominated for this award. This was the second Coupe built and the first completed at Carrozzeria Gransport . It competed in nine FIA races (LeMans, Reims, Goodwood Tourist Trophy, Tour de France, Daytona, Sebring, Oulton Park TT, LeMans, Enna), won four FIA events (LeMans '64, Tourist Trophy '64, Daytona '65, Sebring '65) and one event during

384-555: The 1964 International Championship for GT Manufacturers . The Shelby Daytona Coupes won the GT III class (by 19 points) for the 1965 International Championship for GT Manufacturers . A partial list of competitions and results includes: Carroll Shelby, after winning Le Mans in 1959, wanted to return to Europe to beat Enzo Ferrari at Le Mans with a car of his own design. Having developed the AC Cobra/Shelby Cobra into

448-587: The 1978 - 1981 seasons) and Grand Touring (GT) (except of the 1953 - 1961 and 1982 seasons). In 1985 - 1992 seasons titles were awarded only to teams entering sports prototypes (instead of manufacturers of sports prototypes), excluding teams entering GT cars. In 1962 - 1967 seasons titles in both categories were awarded in several engine capacity divisions . In 1962 - 1963 seasons titles were also awarded in three engine capacity subdivisions (or series ) within each division of GT cars category. Key: Winning manufacturer = The company that owned

512-563: The BMW M1 engine or the new Cosworth DFL , but, like in the main class, a variety of solutions were employed by each individual manufacturer. Alba , Tiga , Spice and Ecurie Ecosse were among the most competitive in this class. While the Group C formula had brought manufacturers back to the sport, it was again Porsche - with its 956 & 962 Group C line - that continued their domination of

576-635: The C- and D-Types . In 1962, the calendar was expanded to include smaller races, while the FIA shifted the focus to production based GT cars. The World Sportscar Championship title was discontinued, being replaced by the International Championship for GT Manufacturers . They group cars into three categories with specific engine sizes; less than one litre, less than two litres, and over two litres. Hillclimbs , sprint races and smaller races expanded

640-590: The GT class. The original project had six Shelby Daytona Coupes built for racing purposes between 1964 and 1965, as Carroll Shelby was reassigned to the Ford GT40 project to compete at the 24 Hours of Le Mans , again to beat Ferrari in the highest level prototype class. Shelby won a title in the International Championship for GT Manufacturers in the 1965 season with the Shelby Daytona car, thus becoming

704-437: The International Championship for GT Manufacturers series, including events at Le Mans , Daytona , Sebring , Imola , Reims , Spa Francorchamps , Goodwood Circuit , Oulton Park , Circuito Piccolo delle Madonie , the multi-race Tour de France Automobile , Enna , Rouen , Monza , and Nürburgring . The Shelby Daytona Coupes, in their first year of competition, finished second (to Ferrari, by 6 points) in GT III class in

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768-578: The World Championship for Sports Cars , but this was to last only for two seasons (1976–1977). In 1981, the FIA instituted a drivers championship. In 1982, the FIA attempted to counter a worrying climb in engine output of the Group 5 Special Production Cars by introducing Group C , a new category for closed sports-prototypes (purpose built racing cars) that limited fuel consumption (the theory being that by limiting fuel consumption, engine regulations could be more relaxed). While this change

832-473: The "coil-Spring Cobra" chassis. After sketching the proposed design on the floor of the Shelby America workshop, starting with the roadster chassis crashed at the 1963 Le Mans race, Brock removed the bodywork and placed a seat and steering wheel in alignment of where he felt that they should be. He then placed driver Ken Miles in the car, and using scrap wood and gaffer tape, designed the windscreen -

896-499: The #59 at Le Mans on June 19–20, 1965, British drivers Sutcliffe and Harper ran CSX2602 with the distinctive Red & White Swiss colors for the famous Swiss racing team "Scuderia Filipinetti". The latter had already earned a reputation for themselves racing Ferraris. When Ford used up their allotment of entries for the 1965 Le Mans race, they asked team owner Georges Filipinetti to buy a Shelby Coupe from Alan Mann Racing and race it as his own annual entry. The red and white Cobra ran until

960-544: The 10th hour, when a blown engine put it out of the race. After Le Mans, chassis CSX2602 was returned to Alan Mann Racing. It was repainted in the Shelby American team colors and never raced again. In July 2015 Shelby American announced that they would produce a limited run of 50 continuation Daytonas to honor the 50th anniversary of the Daytona's win in the International Championship for GT Manufacturers . Some of

1024-428: The 427 "Type 65" Shelby Daytona Super Coupe # CSB3054 prototype that was developed but never officially completed by Shelby, is not included in this article. Build #CSX2286, was built as a one-off special for the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans race however it never made it to the race. Carroll Shelby told a fictitious version of the story, claiming that it had an accident when being put on the truck to go to Le Mans. The truth

1088-513: The 50 are to be aluminum-bodied, while others will have cheaper fiberglass bodies. In 2004 Ford and Shelby created a sports coupe dubbed the Ford Shelby GR-1 , with a sleek body and the new V10 powering the new Shelby Cobra . Carroll Shelby has explained that he does not want it to be called a Cobra, but it does bear resemblance to the Daytona. International Championship for GT Manufacturers The World Sportscar Championship

1152-624: The ACO launched their own international championship, the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup , the same year. Following the success of the ACO's Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC), the FIA reached an agreement with the ACO to create a new FIA World Endurance Championship for 2012. The series shares many elements of the ILMC, including the use of the 24 Hours of Le Mans as part of the series schedule. The series continued to utilise

1216-775: The ACO's two primary classes, Le Mans Prototypes and GT Endurance (GTE). Hypercar replaced LMP1 as the primary class in 2021, running LMH and LMDh cars, the same as used in the IMSA Sportscar Championship's top class GTP . Championship titles are awarded for constructors and drivers in prototypes, while a constructors cup are awarded in the GTE categories. From 2017 championship titles are awarded also for constructors and drivers in GTE category. LMGT3 replaced GTE in 2024. Note: In 1953 - 1984 seasons titles were awarded to manufacturers of sports cars belonging to two main categories: Sports prototype (except of

1280-588: The Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, in November 1965, while driven by Craig Breedlove , Bobby Tatroe and Tom Greatorex during a Goodyear tire testing session. Shortly thereafter, it was reconditioned and was advertised for sale. Slot car racing magnate Jim Russell bought the car from Shelby in 1966 after seeing an ad in the newspaper, for about $ 4-$ 5k. Russell eventually listed the car for sale and music producer Phil Spector bought it from him. The car

1344-484: The FIA's newly renamed World Championship for Makes from 1972 to 1975. From 1976 to 1981 the World Championship for Makes was open to Group 5 Special Production Cars and other production based categories including Group 4 Grand Touring cars and it was during this period that the nearly-invincible Porsche 935 dominated the championship. Prototypes returned in 1976 as Group 6 cars with their own series,

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1408-566: The Ford's won four years in a row, in what is now considered the Golden Age of sports car racing. In 1972 the Group 6 Prototype and Group 5 Sports Car classes were both replaced by a new Group 5 Sports Car class. These cars were limited to 3.0 L engines by the FIA, and manufacturers gradually lost interest. The new Group 5 Sports Cars, together with Group 4 Grand Touring Cars, would contest

1472-476: The GT III Class, while also earning the points needed to secure the 1965 International Championship for GT Manufacturers . This car was featured in the 1965 film Red Line 7000 , then was purchased by its driver Bob Bondurant, who sold it in 1969. The car sold for $ 7.25 million on August 15, 2009, and it is currently owned by Perez Companc family from Argentina. This was the fifth Shelby Coupe built and

1536-749: The GT class at the 12 Hours of Sebring in March 1964 with MacDonald and Holbert behind the wheel. The race at Sebring marked the first victory for a Cobra Daytona Coupe. At Le Mans in June 1964, the car was finished in Viking Blue metallic very distinctive white painted front fenders. The drivers were Amon and Neerpasch. They led the GT class until the car was disqualified in the 10th hour for an illegal jump start due to battery and alternator failure. This coupe ended its racing career by setting 25 USAC/FIA world records at

1600-415: The GT winning Alan Mann entry driven by Bondurant and Neerpasch ), and 12th overall. After the race, this white coupe was returned to Alan Mann Racing and was repainted in the official Guardsman Blue metallic and white stripe of the 1965 Shelby American team. Carroll Shelby himself owned this Daytona before it was sold by RM Auctions for $ 4.4 million on August 19, 2000. This was the fourth Coupe built and

1664-848: The International Sports Racing Series which evolved into the short-lived FIA Sportscar Championship in 2001 until 2003. Sports prototypes then came exclusively under the control of the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and their sanctioned series, the American Le Mans Series in North America and the Le Mans Series in Europe. The FIA's championship for GTs was eventually promoted to world championship status in 2010 , while

1728-536: The Shelby American Collection in Boulder, Colorado. This Shelby Daytona Coupe was leased from Alan Mann Racing by Ford of France, to race as the national "Tri-Colore" entry in the 1965 Nurburgring 1000 km race, for which it was painted a white body finish with blue and red stripes. Well known French drivers André Simon and Jo Schlesser drove this coupe to 3rd in the GT 3 category (behind

1792-628: The Tour de France (Rouen). The car was driven through this period by Dan Gurney , Bob Bondurant , Maurice Trintignant , Bernard de St. Auban, Jo Schlesser , Hal Keck, Jack Sears and Dick Thompson . At LeMans in 1964, drivers Gurney and Bondurant, clocking over 196 miles per hour (315 km/h) on the Mulsanne Straight, took First Place in the GT III Class. CSX2299 was painted Viking Blue with two white stripes in 1964 and repainted Guardsman Blue with two larger longitudinal white stripes and

1856-503: The World title. The Mercedes-Benz work team pulled out of the championship after 1955 due to their crash at Le Mans , while the small Aston Martin factory team struggled to find success in 1957 and 1958 until it managed to win the championship in 1959. Notably absent from the overall results were the Jaguar works team, who did not enter any events other than Le Mans, despite the potential of

1920-576: The archive stores at Ford. Brock used these as the basis for the new design. Brock, driver Ken Miles, and fabricator John Ohlsen were the original members of the project. The design was initially snubbed by the rest of the Shelby team but after the car started to take shape and driving tests showed impressive results, the rest of the team got on board with the project to help finish it. In the May 2020 issue of Classic Motorsports Brock recounted "...In spite of all

1984-700: The car before he lost his license. The car made an appearance in a 1968 episode of The Monkees , where it was driven against the Monkeemobile in a race. The car was given an iron cross on the 'meatball'. All trace of CSX2287 was lost by the mid-1970s, with car historians and collectors fearing the car had been destroyed. In 2001 the car was rediscovered in a rental storage unit in California. The owner Donna O'Hara had committed suicide by burning herself alive. The car had remained undiscovered for almost 30 years. Due to its estimated worth of over $ 4,000,000

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2048-540: The car driven by Bob Bondurant and Dan Gurney . This car finished fourth in the main race but won in the GT class. CSX2286 was returned to California, returned to stock, and was raced at Le Mans the following year with drivers Gurney and Jerry Grant . Due to clutch trouble it failed to finish. Owned and successfully vintage raced by S. Robson Walton , but crashed at Laguna Seca Raceway in August 2012. The car has since been repaired and fully restored. Chassis #CSX2287

2112-583: The car was part of an extensive legal battle between her mother who sold the car to Dr. Frederick A. Simeone, and a friend of Ms O'Hara who was the recipient in her will of the contents of the storage unit. CSX2287 is restored. It has been preserved and mechanically reconditioned. It is part of the permanent collection at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, PA, USA. In January 2014 CSX2287 became

2176-757: The car, clocked at that point capable of speeds over 190 miles per hour (310 km/h). CSX2287 was transported to Daytona Speedway for its debut race in the February 16, 1964 Daytona Continental 2000 km. Driver Dave MacDonald earned the pole position with a time of 2:08.200 and average speed of 106.464 miles per hour (171.337 km/h). The first Shelby Daytona Coupe was built at the Shelby American race shop in Venice, California. The remaining five were built at Carrozzeria Gransport (Italian for "Grand Sport Coachbuilders") in Modena, Italy. A seventh semi-related car,

2240-525: The championship (as Group C Category 2 cars) during the one transitional year. They were however seriously handicapped in terms of weight, fuel allocation and grid positions. For 1991 the championship took on yet another new name, the FIA Sportscar World Championship and the new 3.5 litre rules took full effect for the 1992 championship with the old Group C cars no longer included. The new generation of WSC racing engines, with

2304-516: The championship, which now had about 15 races per season. The famous races like Le Mans still counted towards the prototype championship, however, the points valuation wasn't very tabular so the FIA returned to the original form of the championship with about 6 to 10 races. For 1963 the three engine capacity classes remained but a prototype category was added. For 1965 the engine classes became for cars under 1300 cc (Class I), under 2000 cc (Class II), and over 2000 cc (Class III). Class III

2368-539: The class (and European GT racing altogether) disappeared from the series, with sports-prototypes dominating the championship. Porsche was the first constructor to join the series, with the 956 , but soon several other makes joined the series, including Jaguar Cars , Mercedes-Benz , Nissan , Toyota , Mazda and Aston Martin . As costs increased, a C2 class (originally named C Junior) was created for privateer teams and small manufacturers, with greater limits to fuel consumption. In this lower class, most cars used either

2432-573: The extension would have been "too much work" and would have made the car too long, but that Howard had been right all along. Miles took the car to the Riverside Raceway , and on the 1 mile (1.6 km) main straight, took the car on his first five laps to 186 miles per hour (299 km/h), admittedly after it had been found to have "almost flown, lightening the steering a great deal" at speeds above 160 miles per hour (260 km/h). It took another 30 days of development before Miles signed off

2496-981: The first American constructor to win a title on the international scene at the FIA World Championships . In 2014, the first Cobra Daytona Coupe became the first vehicle recorded under a U.S. federal program for documenting historically important national treasures. During 1964 and 1965, Ford entered their six Shelby Daytona Coupes in numerous races through the British Alan Mann Racing Ford factory team, as well as temporarily selling or leasing to other racing teams such as "Tri-Colore" of France and Scuderia Filipinetti of Switzerland. During this period, Shelby Daytona Coupes raced in GT Division III, for engine displacements over 2000 cc. They competed at numerous 500 km, 1000 km, 2000 km, 12 hour and 24 hour races on

2560-423: The first component to be manufactured for the car. He then interspaced wooden formers and, using these as a guide, hand-made the aluminum bodywork for chassis #CSX2287 around them. Shelby conferred with an aerodynamics consultant from Convair , Ben Howard, who said that the design needed to be extended on the tail by at least 3 feet (0.91 m), but Brock stood by his design. Shelby later said that, in hindsight,

2624-902: The first vehicle added to the Historic Vehicle Association 's National Historic Vehicle Register in the United States. Concurrently it became the first automobile to be recorded under the United States Secretary of the Interior Standards for Heritage Documentation, kept on file in the Library of Congress . In November 2014, CSX2287 won the International Historic Motoring Awards "Car of the Year", which

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2688-702: The following races also counted towards the championships in certain years: In the early years, now legendary races such as the Mille Miglia , Carrera Panamericana and Targa Florio were part of the calendar, alongside the 24 Hours of Le Mans , the 12 Hours of Sebring , the Tourist Trophy and Nurburgring 1000 km. Manufacturers such as Ferrari , Maserati , Mercedes-Benz , Porsche , and Aston Martin fielded entries, often featuring professional racing drivers with experience in Formula One , but

2752-624: The fourth completed at Carrozzeria Gransport. It competed in six 1965 races (Daytona, Sebring, Monza, Spa, Nürburgring and LeMans) and was driven by Rick Muther , John Timanus, Lew Spencer, Jim Adams, Phil Hill , Jack Sears , John Whitmore , Peter Sutcliffe and Peter Harper . Prior to the Le Mans race, chassis CSX 2602 was also raced at Daytona (driven by Muther and Timanus) in 1965, Sebring (driven by Spencer, Adams, and Hill) in 1965, Monza (driven by Sears and Whitmore) in 1965, and Nurburgring (driven by Sears and Gardner) also in 1965. Racing with

2816-522: The internal dissension, Ohlsen, Miles and I persevered. We led a small group of shop converts into building our first Daytona Coupe in 90 days!" CSX2287 has an extensive race history, competing at Daytona, Sebring, Reims, Spa Francorchamps, Oulton Park TT, Le Mans, Tour de France and Bonneville Salt Flats. It was driven by Dave MacDonald , Bob Holbert, Jo Schlesser , Phil Hill , Jochen Neerpasch , Chris Amon , Innes Ireland , André Simon , Maurice Dupeyron, Bob Johnson and Tom Payne. Chassis CSX2287 won

2880-601: The length of this straight, this speed differential represented a loss of over 10 seconds per lap which could negate any power and acceleration advantage that the Cobra had in the slower sections. Shelby asked employee Pete Brock to design the Daytona's aerodynamic bodywork and Bob Negstad to design the car's suspension. Negstad also designed the chassis and suspension for the GT40 and the CSX 3000 series Shelby Cobra, often referred to as

2944-411: The majority of the fields were made up of gentleman drivers ( privateers ) in the likes of Nardis and Bandinis . Cars were split into Sports Car and GT (production car) categories and were further divided into engine displacement classes. The Ferrari and Maserati works teams were fierce competitors throughout much of the decade, but although Maserati cars won many races the make never managed to clinch

3008-634: The manufacturers left the top class of sportscar racing, the series essentially collapsed. A lack of entries meant the 1993 season was cancelled before the first race. In 1994, the World Sportscar title would return, this time in the hands of the International Motor Sports Association in North America for use in the IMSA GT series. The name would be used for the series' top class of prototypes until 1998 when

3072-410: The original Shelby Daytona. Borland Racing's Daytona Sportscar , sometimes referred to as a "Daytona Coupe", is an Australian-made lookalike of the original Shelby Daytona. The Daytona Sportscar is notable for being the car that Australian motoracing driver, Peter Brock , died in. Ferrari Daytona , (correctly named the 365 GTB/4) a Ferrari GT produced between 1968 and 1973. Topics referred to by

3136-422: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Daytona Coupe . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daytona_Coupe&oldid=711431947 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

3200-547: The series ended. 1994 also signaled the return of an international GT series after an absence of over a decade with the introduction of the BPR Global GT Series . The success of the series lead to a friendly takeover by the FIA in 1997, becoming the FIA GT Championship . Prototypes were mainly absent from European tracks (Le Mans being the sole notable exception) until 1997, which saw the creation of

3264-685: The series frequently changed throughout the years but was generally known as the World Sportscar Championship from its inception in 1953. Alongside the Formula One World Championship , it was one of the two major World Championships in circuit motor racing. The championship was revived in the 2012 season under the new name as the FIA World Endurance Championship . The series was known under different names throughout

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3328-426: The series in the '70s and early '80s. In addition, most races ran for either 500 or 1000 km, usually going over three and six hours, respectively, so it was possible to emphasize the "endurance" aspect of the competition as well. Group B cars, which was a GT class, were also allowed to race, but entries in this class were sparse; combined with fatal accidents in rallying where the Group B class saw more popularity,

3392-802: The sport. For 1986, the World Endurance Championship became the World Sports-Prototype Championship . Although the Group C formula was a success, with regular crowds of 50,000 to 70,000 at WSC events (a modern Grand Prix in Europe will have similar crowds), and upwards of 350,000 at the 24 hours of Le Mans, the FIA introduced new rules for 1991 at the behest of FIA vice president Bernie Ecclestone; 750 kg machines with contemporary normally aspirated engines, which were purpose-built 3500cc racing units. The new classification, known as Group C Category 1 ,

3456-521: The stated intent of cost reduction and improved competition, quickly proved highly suspect. Costs rose massively as works teams developed cars capable of qualifying around halfway up a Formula 1 grid, despite weighing some 200 kg more. Manufacturers again abandoned the sportscar series, realising they now had an engine suitable for F1. In particular, Mercedes and Peugeot elected to either concentrate on or move solely to F1. The more exotic engines were unaffordable for teams like Spice and ADA , thus after

3520-428: The third completed at Carrozzeria Gransport. It competed in eight FIA races in 1965 (Daytona, Sebring, Monza, Spa, Nürburgring, LeMans, Reims, Enna), won four times in GT III class (Monza, Nürburgring, Reims, Enna), and driven by Bob Johnson, Tom Payne, Bob Bondurant , Allen Grant, Jochen Neerpasch and Jo Schlesser . At Reims, 3–4 July 1965, drivers were Bondurant and Schlesser. It was painted Guardsman Blue. They won

3584-586: The years: Titles were given to manufacturers from 1953 to 1984 and to teams from 1985 to 1992. The most famous event was the 24 Hours of Le Mans which was the part of the championship in every season except of the 1956 , 1975 – 79 and 1989 – 90 seasons. The 24 Hours of Daytona followed near-continuous inclusion on the World Sportscar Championship. In 1982, the race was dropped as the series attempted to cut costs by both keeping teams in Europe and running shorter races. Among others,

3648-535: Was designed to attract more American manufacturers, with no upper limit on engine displacement. The period between 1966 and 1971 was possibly the most successful era of the World Championship, with S (5 L sports cars ) and P (3 L prototypes) classes, and cars such as the Ferrari 512S , Ferrari 330 P4 , Ford GT40 , Lola T70 , Chaparral , Alfa Romeo 33 , and Porsche 's 908 , 917 battled for supremacy on classic circuits such as Sebring , Nürburgring , Spa-Francorchamps , Monza , Targa Florio , and Le Mans where

3712-441: Was designed to mandate Formula One engines. Although power was generally less than existing Group C cars (around 650 bhp compared to around 750 bhp upwards) the new cars are considered to be among the quickest sportscars ever. However, the take up of these new regulations was slow and only a handful of Category 1 cars were ready for the 1991 season. Consequently, the FIA also allowed cars complying with pre-1991 Group C rules to contest

3776-477: Was not suited for street driving, however certain features were added including traditional rear-exit mufflers and interior carpeting, in order to make it more user-friendly. It is unknown if these were added by Spector or Russell. Built for high-speed racing, the cab became uncomfortably warm at low speeds, among other problems. Still, Spector drove it on the streets, and legend is that Spector racked up so many speeding tickets, his lawyer advised him to get rid of

3840-419: Was that the car was never finished. The original plan with CSX2286 was to lengthen the chassis and modify the car so that the 289 cu in Ford engine could be replaced with a NASCAR inspired big block. New Zealander John Ohlsen, who worked for Shelby on the original Daytona Coupe prototype (chassis #CSX2287) with Pete Brock and Ken Miles , modified the chassis used for the build at Shelby’s Venice shop. The car

3904-406: Was the very first prototype Cobra Daytona Coupe, and is the only coupe that was built entirely at the Shelby American race shop in Venice, California. It was designed by Pete Brock, based on German engineering designs for an aerodynamic race car, dating back to the late 1930s. The plans were thought by Brock to have been lost during World War II however copies of the original German plans were found in

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3968-559: Was the world endurance racing series run for sports car racing , sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), from 1953 to 1992 . The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance , and road racing events in Europe and North America with dozens of gentleman drivers at the grid to a professional racing series where the world's largest automakers spent millions of dollars per year. The official name of

4032-407: Was then shipped to Italy, where Ohlsen was meant to oversee the installation of a Ford aluminium 427 cu in block. Citing concerns about overheating Ford reneged on the 427 and instead provided a 390, which Ohlsen installed. Time ran out on the build after the remaining long list of parts from Ford never arrived. Instead, another build, chassis #CSX2299, was used at the race with Ohlsen as crew chief and

4096-474: Was unwelcome amongst some of the private teams, manufacturer support for the new regulations was immense. Several of the 'old guard' manufacturers returned to the WSC within the next two years, with each marque adding to the diversity of the series. Under the new rules, it was theoretically possible for normally aspirated engines to compete with the (expensive to maintain) forced induction engines that had dominated

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