Paul Stephens

Shelby Daytona Coupe (Superformance) - £59,995 

The Shelby Daytona Coupe is a racing legend.

In 1964, fed up of his AC Cobras being pipped to the post by the Ferrari 250 GTO in endurance GT racing, Carroll Shelby decided to build something a bit exceptional to beat Enzo at his own game.

The chassis and drivetrain in the Cobra were incredibly strong, but it was clearly losing out on top speed to the 250s on the quicker circuits. Rather than build an all-new car, Shelby decided to employ designer Pete Brock to come up with a more aerodynamic shape to use with the existing Cobra mechanicals. In a very short time the Daytona Coupe was born.

It was an instant success, defeating the GTOs at Sebring and LeMans in 1964 and going on to enormous success in 1965. To this day Shelby is certain that Enzo Ferrari had the Monza round cancelled in order that the Daytona would not beat his cars on home turf and win the championship, but his alleged efforts were futile, the Daytona won the GT Championships in 1965.

The Daytona was not only an efficient, reliable and competitive race car it was also devastatingly pretty and thus became one of the legends of GT racing.

Just one prototype and five factory cars were built before the Daytona was retired, making it not only quicker than the 250 GTO but rarer too.

This was ratified in September 2011, where a solitary Daytona demolished a field of 250s to take 1st place and fastest lap in the prestigious TT race at Goodwood Revival.

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Some forty years later the original designer Pete Brock went back to the drawing board to pen a modern equivalent : A car that recreated the soul and style of the original Daytona but with enough modern convenience to use on the road.

The car you see here is the result. It was originally known as the Superformance before Carroll Shelby gave his official support to the project and the car became a 'continuation' and was allowed the iconic title : The Shelby Daytona Coupe.

The car received massive press acclaim on its release and not just because of the way it looked. Journalist Andrew Frankel said "...what I had not expected wass one of the greatest driving machines ever to grace the public road. This car is an astonishing achievement; gorgeous, almost indescribably fast and utterly true to its roots."

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This RHD example is one of just nine of the original design believed to have been brought to the UK and was registered in 2004. It has covered just 6,000 miles since.

It is fitted with a 500bhp Roush built Ford V8 driving through a 6 speed Tremec box and bring 60mph up in 3.9 seconds and 100mph in 8.6. The top speed has not been officially quoted but suffice to say it has been independently and electronically recorded at over 200mph.

Building a car that's quick in a straight line is one thing, but making it handle is another. Thankfully the Daytona is usefully un-American here due to fully independent, fully adjustable Bilstein and H&R developed suspension and beautifully accurate power-assisted steering.

It is also a surpisingly practical machine with a comfortable, spacious, leather-trimmed cockpit, air-conditioning, power steering and even a big boot. It would make an epic grand tourer just as well as it would a Sunday blaster or track hooligan.

The quality of the car is also worthy of note. The fit, finish and resolve of every component is superb for a hand-built low-volume car.

We were not expecting to love this car quite as much as we do, anticipating a similar experience to a contemporary TVR or Marcos, but to compare it to those cars is to mis-understand it. It is a genuine GT super car, offering incredible performance, a brilliant drive and a truly special sense of occasion. Even if it did not have the history and beauty that it does it would stand up on its own as a very proper machine.

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