Shelby American’s racing priority for the 1963 season was to win the United States Road Racing Championship (USRRC). The USRRC were held on the relatively tight circuits used by the SCCA where high-speeds were only hit for brief seconds per lap. Ford and Shelby were planning to race the Cobra in the GT category of the International Championship for Manufacture for the 1964 season. Peter Brock understood that the Cobra would need a new body for increased top-speed to be competitive. The GT Championship was held primarily in Europe where races were held on public roads with long straights for substained high-speeds. Brock’s design, which became know as the Daytona coupe, was successful and in 1964 the Cobra coupe won the GT class at Sebring, Le Mans, and the Tourist Trophy but lost the GT Championship to Ferrari. Ford’s GT 40 program was unsuccessful and unfortunately for Ford the national press emphasis was on the GT 40 program and overall race wins and not the Cobra’s success in the GT class.

(more…)