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Morning Symphony: Canyon-Carving With A 7.0L Superformance-Built Shelby Daytona Coupe!


Morning Symphony: Canyon-Carving With A 7.0L Superformance-Built Shelby Daytona Coupe!

It has ties to aircraft manufacturer Convair, Ferrari, LeMans, Ford and was only built because of the Mulsanne straight at LeMans…the original version, without the two chicanes in it. The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe is a design of form following function, the function being whipping the Ferrari 250 GTO at it’s own game on the world racing circuit. Not that the Shelby Cobra itself was a slouch, but on the Mulsanne straight it became a matter of aerodynamics: the Cobra could only hit 157 miles an hour on Mulsanne, while the Ferrari could tap 186 miles an hour. No matter how well the Cobra could do with the Ferrari on other parts of the track, there was no possible way that the roadster could make up the deficit that the aerodynamic drag created. Using the Cobra wrecked at the 1963 LeMans and driver Ken Miles as the human element in the design, Shelby formed the body around him, conferring with an aerodynamic consultant from Convair about the shape. By the time the car was good enough for Miles to sign off on, it had proven to be stable at 190 miles an hour, plenty enough to give Ferrari another haunting image of a Ford-powered creation in his sleep.

The problem with the Daytona? Only six cars were initially built. Real, legitimate 1964-65 Daytona Coupes are prohibitively expensive, and are ill-tempered track beasts. But much like the Cobra roadster, the aftermarket has filled in the gap. This is a Superformance Daytona Coupe, one so good that Shelby American has blessed off on the build and even has provided a CSX-xxxx identification number for it. Packing a 427 created from a 351 Windsor, barking through side pipes and fitted with creature comforts that would have sent the 1965 teams into fits of laughter (air conditioning? Really?!), the Superformance car can be bought by anyone who has the funds…which is around the $180,000 mark. Not cheap, but much, much cheaper than the real deal, and a lot better to cruise on the roads with.


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2 thoughts on “Morning Symphony: Canyon-Carving With A 7.0L Superformance-Built Shelby Daytona Coupe!

  1. Chevy Hatin' Mad Geordie

    Guuuuuuuuurrrrr!

    I want one!

    Why didn’t AC and Shelby produce road versions of these back in the 60s? They would have outsold the roadsters and offered a slightly cheaper alternative to the Ferrari GTO. But then by now the roads would have been flooded with cheap replicas powered by stinking Chevy motors so perhaps its a good thing!

    So thank you Superformance for keeping the memory of a true legend alive.

  2. Loren

    The first 7-8 miles or so of Big Tujunga Cyn Rd from Sunland CA to the dam. Have blasted through there probably hundreds of times back in the day, living a short distance away. Been through there on a racing go-kart when I was 16, and on the back of a bike where we hit that bump referred to in the second minute at about 120 and I nearly fell off the thing. There is better roadway for a video shoot further along, but that was nice.

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