Shelby Daytona Top Speed
Carroll Shelby is quite the car legend, and his legacy lives on in Shelby American to this day. While he is mostly lauded for his efforts that made Ford beat Ferrari in the world of auto racing - something no mass production car could even dream of - his creation, the legendary Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé was closer to his heart than the GT40; or so it is said.
Over the years, much information about the car has been lost or fudged, and with the man himself gone, things are not so clear as they once used to be. Even so, there are many, including Shelby and Ken Miles, who believed the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé was way ahead of the Ford GT40.
This was a car made by car mavericks, as opposed to the big money being poured into the GT40 by Ford. And yet, sometimes when enough crazy gets together, it creates a thing of legend. This is what we know of the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé and how it could embarrass the Ford GT40 on any given day!
15 Ken Miles Was Convinced That The Daytona Coupé Was Faster Than The GT40
Had Ford v. Ferrari never been made, and Carroll Shelby and Ken Miles not been immortalized by Matt Damon and Christian Bale forever, this article may never have come to fruition. The coolest thing about the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé is that Ken Miles believed it was way faster and more capable than the GT40. They say when he spoke about the Daytona Coupe, he sounded as excited as a schoolboy.
14 This Was A Car Built By Independent Tinkerers And Hot Rodders
Unlike the Ford GT40, which was also built by tinkerers and hot rodders but had a ton of money flowing into it, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé was a creation made by people who had no deep pockets but an unending love for cars, speed, and racing. And on July 4, 1965, this independent little creation won America its first FIA manufacturers' road-racing championship.
13 It Became the First Federally Registered Historic Car
There have been game-changing cars in American automobile history. These cars went off the trodden path and created a whole new world for other cars to follow, and the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé did just that. Consequentially, it became the first automobile to be recorded into the United States Heritage Documentation in the Library of Congress.
12 It Was The First American Car To Win 'Car Of The Year'
The International Historic Motoring Awards is like the Academy Awards for the automobile industry, and the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé, serialized as the CSX2287 became the first American car to be nominated for and winning the "Car of the Year" award, based on the public vote, in 2014. Quite an honor.
11 It Got Auctioned Off For A Staggering Amount
Carroll Shelby kept one of these crazy-fast cars as a personal ride of his and his CSX2300 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé was auctioned off for a whopping $4.4million in August 2000. Pipping this amount, the CSX2601, a race-worthy Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé, went for a record $7.25 million in August 2009.
10 It Was Closer To Shelby's Heart Than The GT40
The GT40 was where all the money lay, and Shelby had to focus on it to create history and to keep his company alive and well-funded. But the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé is where his heart lay, and they had only 90 days to build the car, and only enough money to build six of these beauties.
9 It Set 23 National And International Speed Records
After winning the FIA in 1965, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé had not been raced for months. In November, it took to the Bonneville Salt Flats to race against time, and in just four days, it set some 23 national and international speed records, reaching a fantastic top speed of 187 mph!
8 The Only American Car To Win FIA World Sportscar GT Class In 1965
The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé was known as Carroll Shelby's secret weapon, powered by a 7.0-liter iron block V8 with aluminum cylinder heads. Since it was also small and light, it became the first and the only American car to win the World Manufacturer's Championship for Grand Touring Racecars, along with FIA World Sportscars GT Class in 1965.
7 It Won LeMans Before The GT40, In Its Class
In 1964, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé won both the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Le Mans before the GT40 ever made it to the finish line. You can see that there was a reason why Ford got Carroll Shelby to help finetune the GT40. Him, Peter Brock, and Ken Miles, made for a killer combination on the race track.
6 It Was Simply Called The Daytona Car
Instead of calling it the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé, many simply shorten it down to the 'Daytona car', and this is so because it not only kick-started America's short but stupendous reign in the world of automobile racing but was also officially built to compete in the Daytona.
5 One Of The Most Important Cars In American History
We cannot stress the importance of this car in American racing enough - and we say that while giving the utmost respect to the Ford GT40. This is one of the most historically valuable cars we have now, especially since there are still a couple of Daytona cars that are completely untouched and original, giving engineers an amazing window into what Shelby did to this little beauty.
4 It Now Sits At The Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum
The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé CSX2287 is part of the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia that houses the most important and culturally significant collections of sports cars in the world. This beauty is part of a 60-car collection that you cannot find anywhere but here. This is racing history, in the truest sense.
3 One Is Owned By The Heir Of The Walmart Fortune
One of the six original Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupés in blue is owned by Rob Walton, the heir to the Walmart fortune. Lance Stander, the CEO of Shelby Legendary Cars also owns a replica of the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé that cost some $500,000 but says the original one with Walton may be well worth over $15million!
2 Aerodynamic Efficiency Was Its Middle Name
What made the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé so legendary was a combination of many things, but the leading one had to be its aerodynamics. The car was tiny, so tiny, that Ken Miles said driving a tin can would perhaps be more comfortable. But then again, it was never built for comfort, just hair-raising speed.
1 It Has An Enviable Race History
One doesn't get to be a legend if you don't leave a trail of dust behind you. And so, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé, the car that may have even inspired the Ford GT40, in part, has a race history that can leave others chomping at their bits. It successfully competed at Daytona, Sebring, Reims, Spa Francorchamps, Oulton Park TT, Le Mans, Tour de France, and Bonneville Salt Flats.
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About The Author 
Arun Singh Pundir (1018 Articles Published)
Arun Singh Pundir has been a longtime media crackerjack and worked most of his life in sales and marketing. In 2018, he officially flipped and switched sides to the editorial. He lives with his wife, two rascally sons and is a car and motorcycle nut in his free time. Not that he has too much free time. He currently writes news, features, and listicles for HotCars on anything that has any number or kind of wheels. He is also penning pop culture, lifestyle and all things rich for TheRichest. For now, he considers his Isuzu D-Max V-Cross, Suzuki Ciaz, and Royal Enfield Classic 500, the three current flames of his life. His dream is to drive around the world; even if it takes more than eighty days.
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Source: https://www.hotcars.com/15-facts-about-the-shelby-cobra-daytona-coupe-that-can-put-the-gt40-to-shame/
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