SHELBY Cobra Daytona Coupé "Recreation" - 1965

- Belgian "Oldtimer" registration
- Body : Polyester
- Chassis : Factory Five
- Engine : Ford 4.7 V8 351 Ci +-450cv
- Gearbox : Tremec TKO 600 5 Speed
- Brakes: Kirkham Motorsport (Ventilated front)
- Suspension: Hawk Cars UK
- Tyres: 15' AVON
- Finish : Shelby American 12 Hours of Sebring 1965 (B. Johnson / T. Payne) 7th Overall, 2nd GT Class

In the early 1960s, Ferrari won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race year after year. In an attempt to counter the success of the Italian cars, Ford and Shelby joined forces to put their names at the top of the podium in the Le Mans event. Their first weapon was the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé...

By 1963, Shelby Cobra had succeeded in establishing its name in American motor racing, and the actor who worked with Ford quickly obtained loans from the American giant to develop a car capable of taking on the Ferraris at the 24 Hours of Le Mans to win, and why not become the first American manufacturer to win the GT championship.

So it was that Pete Brock developed an experimental coupé based on a Cobra 289 and made his debut at the 1964 Daytona 24 Hours. The Cobra coupé won the GT class and Carroll Shelby added the Daytona name to his model. The car won again at Sebring a few months later. The Americans then ordered a coupé body from Carrozzeria Grand Sport, an Italian craftsman who produced one of the most beautiful works of its time. Carroll Shelby was so enthusiastic about the car's lines that he ordered four more, which completed the armada of six Shelby Cobra Daytonas produced in Shelby's workshops.

The Shelby Cobra Daytonas bodied by Grand Sport took their first victories in 1964, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the GT category, where they finished a very respectable fourth overall, behind three Ferraris. That year, Shelby could even have won the GT championship!

In 1965, a new season began with the 24 Hours of Daytona. Four Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupés were entered, one of them finishing second overall! The car also put in good performances in a number of European events: eighth place at Monza, second place at Spa, etc. Unfortunately, these good performances were not repeated at the 1965 Le Mans 24 Hours, where the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupé only finished eighth overall.

However, this result was much better than that of the Ford GT40s, which entered at Le Mans for the first time to counter the Ferraris, as all the GT40s entered retired. The giant Ford integrated Carroll Shelby into the GT40 programme for the 1966 season, which turned them into legendary cars. In July, the Shelby Daytona Coupé raced in the 12 Hours of Reims and won the event ahead of the Ferrari armada, winning the GT category title in the process. Thereafter, the Shelby GTs retired, to be replaced by the Ford GT40 in the major events...