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In 1963, the Shelby Cobra Roadster proved its potential as an AC Ace/Ford V8 hybrid and dominated the American USSRC racing. However, on the international front, the roadster lacked the top speed necessary to take on Ferrari and their streamlined 250 GTO.

Convinced by Pete Brock, Shelby gave the go-ahead to rebody his 289 Cobra to include a closed cockpit for better aerodynamics. This resulted in a Cobra having a much lower center of gravity and less aerodynamic drag. By October 1963, early tests showed positive results with 186mph attained which was some 20 mph more than the 286 Roadster.

Debut of the car was the season opener at Daytona where the car derived its name. The race itself looked promising, with the coupe dominating the first half of the race until a fire in the pits forced the team to retire.

Three weeks later Shelby returned to take on the 12 hours of Sebring. Success was had. After witnessing sucess, Ford then decided to offer Shelby financial backing assault on European GT racing. At this time Ford was very anxious to win on International fronts and created the GT40 to race alongside Shelby's GT cars.

Five more coupes were prepared for the 1964 European season. The competition was fierce, and Ferrari still managed to hold their coveted manufacturers title by a few points. A Highlight victory was scored at LeMans where a coupe CSX2299, driven by Bob Bondurant and Dan Gurney, won amongst a sea of Ferrari 250s.

Shelby remained determined and returned to dominate the 1965. The Absence of company-supported Ferraris allowed Shelby win almost every race and become the first American team to win the European GT manufacturer's title.

Story by Richard Owen for Supercars.net