Shelby's Ferrari beater

Unequivocally, the most captivating figure in American automotive racing history, Carroll Shelby was a lauded race car driver, winning Le Mans for Aston-Martin in 1959, before settling into his role as the beloved automotive designer. Of all his myriad accomplishments, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe still resides at the apex of his celebrated career. Only six original 1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupes were produced in period. They had singular purpose: to beat Enzo Ferrari at his own game in the GT class. Carroll Shelby’s team did just that inside the cockpit of the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe at the 1965 FIA World Championship as well as wins at Sebring and Le Mans in the GT class. It remains the only American make to ever take the GT class world championship. That victorious 1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe went on to break the record for the most expensive American car to ever roll across an auction block in back in 2009 for $7.25 million.

Although the original six are unlikely to hit the open market anytime in the foreseeable future, this particular car comes in a very close second. This period-original Cobra chassis first hosted a 1965 Shelby Cobra Roadster body until it was purchased by Carroll Shelby who directed the open-seater to be transformed into a Daytona Coupe by world-renowned Shelby Cobra expert, Mike McCluskey.

McCluskey would go on to handcraft a limited number of continuation models of the Daytona Coupe, which included completely new construction, exhaustive hand fabrication and minute attention to detail that would garner a Shelby Enterprise seal of approval. Nevertheless, this car remains the only known McCluskey Daytona Coupe body on an original 1965 Shelby chassis that was overseen, owned, and driven by Carroll Shelby personally. Every inch of this car is authentic or fabricated to identical standards set by the original six Daytona Coupes, with the exception of a couple of minor enhancements.

Worldwide Auctioneers are offering this historic 1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe owned by Carroll Shelby via its private sales division, The Salon. Photos © worldwideauctioneers