Intuitive aerodynamic design Shelby Daytona Coupe
 

In the recent fantastic movie 'Ford vs Ferrari,' it highlighted the most dramatic & legendary corporate and racing rivalry of all time. They featured the Group 6 prototypes of Ferrari 330 P3 and Ford GT40 MkII in the movie. Those top designs overshadowed a car created by a handful of California hot rodders, the Shelby Daytona Coupe. Carrol Shelby was very preoccupied with the GT40 program, his tire business and Cobra production, but he was convinced by a young car designer, Peter Brock. He proposed a very unique rebodied close coupe on the successful Shelby Cobra. He was able to research early 1937 German aerodynamic studies of the obscure severely cut-off Kammback tail shapes. Without a wind tunnel but with ball point pen sketches, he shaped his aero-profile.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3e/e5...e470ba611c.jpg

No one in the Shelby shop wanted to work on such an 'ugly' design, but Carrol offered a crashed Cobra chassis, one mechanic and 90 days to have it road tested. With a plywood buck, they shaped the body. On the first road test at Riverside, with the same Cobra engine it had better stability, higher top speeds and broke the course record by 3 1/2 seconds! In its first racing year 1964, the six Shelby Daytona Coupes would dominate the GT Division III and GT-class win at 24 Hours of Le Mans, before the GT40. Clinched 1965 World Sportscar Championship. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNtIXvoMO0k In a capricious corporate decision, Shelby-owner Ford canceled the Daytona racing team. The Daytonas were in England, Shelby did not want them returned and ordered the English team manager to dump them in the English Channel. Shocked he sent them back at his own expense. The six were 'lost' in storage and various ownerships, soon rediscovered they are historic collectors with record highest prices paid for an American car at auction.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VD6yzoPDWE

Yeah it was 'Cybertruck ugly'. I prefer the Renovo incarnation.

I just got back from the movie. It was better than Konosuba. But not [necessarily/any] better than Battle Angel Alita. I actually liked the first half better. That sollioquy on the Muslanne straight took as long as the full lap time. Like he said "At 7000rpm..."

I didn't even think about Brock Yates but there is at least one scene at Caroll Shelby's shop where you see the buck for the aluminum body as set dressing.

They spent time figuring the best angle for the windshield too. Brock went on to campaign Datsuns in SCCA. My first slot car as a teen was an HO Daytona coupe and I went on to do club racing. Saw both the GT-40 and Mark IV up close at Watkins Glen.

Peter Brock's BRE Japanese motorsports
 

In 1965, BMW 507 fame designer Albercht Goetz first designed the Nissan 2000GT with Yamaha but Nissan objected the production costs. Toyota partnered with Yamaha took over, and produced the Nozaki-designed halo car, Toyota 2000GT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5k3M6RZU8s

Pete Brock (BRE, Brock Racing Enterprises) was contracted by Japanese truck manufacturer Hino to hot rod & race their Contessa coupe. Brock's little Japanese Contessa cars dominated the competition, the first winning success for Japanese cars. Ecstatic, Hino gave him a race program. In 1967, Brock designed the gorgeous Samurai GT for LeMans. A state-of-the-art aero design, first to have a driver-controlled rear ring airfoil!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNHHfKCsdDk

Toyota purchased Hino and derailed Brock's Hino Samurai GT from racing the 1967 Japanese Grand Prix - because Toyota did not have anything to compete with it. Toyota immediately signed Brock to their US racing program of the 2000GT. Ford had just quit auto racing altogether, leaving Shelby at the top of the game without a race program. Carrol approached Toyota and stole the 2000GT race program from BRE! Brock still produced another achingly beautiful design for Toyota's Le Mans entry, the BRE-JP6 GT endurance racer. It was sent back to Japan and disappeared. https://d32c3oe4bky4k6.cloudfront.ne...F5CB3C2D686D3B

Furious with Carroll Shelby and Toyota, Peter Brock approached Datsun with a promise to destroy Shelby's Toyota 2000GT race program. He was given Datsun 2000 roadsters, 240Zs and 510s that won races and won championships. Shelby's Toyota 2000GTs did not qualify in national competition, embarrassed Toyota quit and did not race again for 10 years!

BRE Datsuns kicked Shelby's & Toyota's asses!

https://vintageracecar.com/wp-conten...er-for-VRC.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NMG-Ru-xLE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1E8mqH_sSbE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XR9Hicp_olQ
Jay Leno interviewed Peter Brock in the bestest VW van ever. It turns out he was a (World Champion) hang gliderer since 1973. He credits this van for the championships because it's job was to ferry hang gliders to the top of a mountain and then race across the desert to get them home for some sleep before the next day, reliably.

They talk about Jaray and Kamm's work leading up to the Cobra Coupe.

His bet hag glider styory was hanging in his glider and watching a C-130 fly underneath him. :eek: