by Mike Gulett –
Coming up for auction at the Gooding Christie’s Pebble Beach Auction during Monterey Car Week is this very rare Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe – one of the original 6 not a replica.
I admired the Cobra Daytona when I was a kid growing up in the Los Angeles area. I still have two Shelby factory posters hanging on my walls honoring this model (see images down below).
Shelby is the only American team to win the FIA GT Championship and they won it with this model and with contributions by this very car.
1964 SHELBY COBRA DAYTONA COUPE
The Estimate is — In Excess of $25,000,000
That is some estimate – not a range but a minimum.
Car Highlights
Gooding Christie’s writes:
Coachwork by Carrozzeria Grandsport
Chassis – CSX2300
Among the Most Important American Automobiles Ever Built
One of Only Six Cobra Daytona Coupes Created to Defeat Ferrari’s 250 GTO
Debuted at the 1964 Tour de France Automobile with Bondurant and Neerpasch
Key Participant in Shelby American’s Historic 1965 FIA GT Championship Season
The Only Cobra Daytona Coupe to Continue Its Competition Career Beyond Shelby American’s Factory Program, Racing Successfully in Japan Through 1968
Carroll Shelby’s Personal Daytona Coupe from 1975 to 1998; The Only Example Ever Owned by Its Creator
Beautiful, Thrilling, and Historic Dual-Purpose GT Car Eligible for Premier International Concours and Vintage Races
A Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity to Acquire a True Automotive Icon
Let us know what you think in the Comments.
These two posters hang on my office wall.
Below is an advertisement from Road & Track in 1966 advertising the Cobra Daytona prototype for a mere $12,500.
Shelby Cobra Daytona CSX2287 – Road & Track – 1966
Car auction photos compliments of Gooding Christie’s.
If only it could have been a production car! Both beautiful AND purposeful. And it proved that overhead cams and exotic alloy castings aren’t needed to produce a high performance exotic car.
Proud to be American!
Beside the 250 GTO, the Shelby Daytona coupe is one of the most beautiful race cars ever made. As one of only six in the world, I image the final price will exceed $25 million.
The main reason it didn’t get greenlighted is that in ’64, it was faster than some mid-engined Ferraris
so Ford weaned back support so they could put the money on the Ford GT because, being mid-engined, it had
a better chance of winning the 24 Heures du Mans which was their main goal. There was one with a longer wheelbase and 427 engine but Ford dragged their feet getting the right engine to Italy to install so it was changed back to a 289. Pete Brock didn’t fit in with with the Ford engineers sent out from Dearborn. They didn’t need his advice.