Carroll Shelby's Own Ferrari-Beating, Championship-Winning 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe Is Heading To Auction

Whether or not you've watched the entirety of "Ford v Ferrari," you likely know enough about Carroll Shelby to know he was not a man who willingly walked away from being a world-renowned driver. Despite his health setback, Shelby's unrelenting passion for racing (and winning) provided him a convenient next leg for his career, which further launched him into becoming a significant figure in the automotive space. One of the keys to his success and notoriety might be this stunning 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe heading to auction with Gooding Christie's at Pebble Beach in August.

Shelby's forced career pivot resulted in Shelby American, and its pairing of AC Ace European bodies with America's Ford V8 to create the Shelby Cobra. It was a machine on American race tracks, quickly becoming a shaker and competitor amongst its peers. But Shelby was aching to take the car overseas and test its rigor there. He hired Peter Brock, who at the time was one of the youngest designers ever hired by General Motors and was crucial in the design of the second-generation Corvette, which saved the nameplate. Brock was tasked with designing a closed coupe version of the Cobra, and the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe was the result.

This particular Daytona, chassis CSX2300, is the third of six of these models ever built. Shelby's focus was exclusively on beating Ferrari's 250 GTO, so he set his sights to take on Europe, and CSX2300 was outfitted to meet FIA specifications that included a lighter aluminum body fitted in Modena, Italy. Then, it was on to France for its very first race.

CSX2300 was entrusted to American Bob Bondurant and German Jochen Neerpasch for its first race, which happened to be the final round of the 1964 FIA GT Championship: the Tour de France Automobile. Right out of the gate the Daytona won the first two stages, and was putting space between it and the Ferrari. The early victories in the long race were short-lived, as it suffered multiple issues including a broken crankshaft, a gearbox mount failure, and a problem with the accelerator cable. At least Shelby knew it could beat the Ferrari. It just needed to make it to the finish line in one piece.

1965 is when CSX2300 earned itself and Shelby a place in history. Its FIA season was off to a rough start on American soil, winning sixth overall and third in its class at the 24 Hours of Daytona. In its next race, the Sebring 12 Hours, the Daytona stalled at the beginning of the race, leaving it an open target. A Volvo briefly took it out of the race after hitting it from the rear, but the car was quickly repaired and rejoined to finish thirteenth overall and third in class.

Then it was back to Europe, where it was clad in white paint with red and blue stripes to represent Ford of France, remaining the only Daytona Coupe to have worn the livery. CSX2300 went into the final race at Reims with a chance to win the championship, wearing Guardsman Blue and the number 27. It almost lost the title after a connecting rod failure, but mechanics were quick to improvise a repair that helped the car limp gracefully and quickly across the line to take ninth overall and second in class. With that result, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe had not only beaten Ferrari, but won the entire championship.

The win meant a great deal to Shelby, who was quoted with saying, "I don't believe that anything in my own racing career, including winning Le Mans, was more gratifying than winning that championship." He added, "I am particularly proud that it was our car that gave the United States its first international manufacturer's championship."

There's loads more to this car's story, including a few race-winning stints in Japan before it was retired from racing a few years later in 1968. But it was the 1965 win that helped Shelby prove that Americans could take on the best Europe had to offer, and specifically the ever-triumphant Ferrari 250 GT. It also further proved that not only was Shelby adept at racing, he could make one hell of a car. After more than a decade in Japan, including being regularly driven in Tokyo, Carroll Shelby himself bought it in 1975, making this the only Daytona that was actually owned by the man himself. He had it fully restored (one of this car's few restorations) and kept it into the 1990s. Its current owner, Larry Bowman, acquired the car in 2000.

In its retirement, chassis CSX2300 made several exhibition appearances including Monterey Historic in 2003, Goodwood Revival in 2004, 2011, and 2015, as well as the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2018 and this year. This 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe will hit the auction block with Gooding Christie's during Monterey Car Week on Friday, August 14, with a current estimated worth of at least $25 million. The last time one of the six cars went to public auction was back in 2009, when a 1965 Daytona, chassis CSX2601, fetched $7.25 million (about $11.7 million today).