Model: 1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe
Release: Shelby Collectibles 50th Anniversary 2012 (blue)
eBay link: Shelby Collectibles Daytona Coupe
Why I am featuring it: After rediscovering my Shelby Aston-Martin DBR1 for a recent post I decided it was time to get a 1:64 Daytona Coupe to go with it. I have a version of the well-known Hot Wheels casting but it’s a bit cartoony. This Shelby Collectibles version is more like the real deal.
The Daytona Coupe was designed by Peter Brock when he was still working for Carroll Shelby, pre-BRE. It was built to take on Ferrari at Le Mans, where the regular Cobra was hamstrung by poor aerodynamics.
Through my work I’ve been fortunate to meet Peter a few times. He’s always generous with his time and full of great stories. He told me that, with Ford immersed in the GT40 by 1964, it was actually Goodyear that put up the money to build the first prototype of the Daytona Coupe. It was only after Bob Holbert and Dave MacDonald won the GT class at Sebring that Ford backed the team to complete the ’64 season, which included a GT-class win and fourth overall at Le Mans. The following year, with the help of Alan Mann Racing, the Daytona Coupe took the International Championship for GT Manufacturers – the first for a US manufacturer.
The Shelby Collectibles model shown here depicts the #26 car raced to class victory (5th overall) by Bob Bondurant and Jo Schlesser at Reims in 1965. The casting detail is perhaps not quite as crisp as the Aston’s, but it’s still pretty good. The opening parts are well executed, too, although on mine the hood doesn’t quite sit flush to the body.
The Shelby model is available in other colours and there are are other versions of this car in 1:64, too, notably from Johnny Lightning and Kyosho. I don’t have them to show here but I took a shot with the good-looking Hot Wheels Circuit Legends version so that you can see the difference. Thanks for reading!
(find Shelby Collectibles Daytona Coupe on eBay)
(find Hot Wheels Daytona Coupe on eBay)
Truly fantastic! I have the same HW Circuit Legends version, and also a 1/43 scale which I absolutely love to bits!
Never cared for the look of the HW version even though the Circuit Legends looks good. I opted for the HW 100% black box model in blue with opening hood.
That’s a nice version too!
My favourite car, and one of my favourite castings. I’ve got several of the Shelby Collectibles, the regular Hot Wheels, the deluxe Hot Wheels, and the Johnny Lightning (and two of the 1:18 versions from Shelby Collectibles, which are impressively detailed).
Both Hot Wheels castings are quite large. The deluxe is nicely proportioned and the opening hood is nice, with good engine detailing, but the regular is all kinds of wonky. The real car does have a larger rear wheel/tire combo, but HW really exaggerated it, and combined with some other changes to the body proportions really makes it look awkward. I still buy every version I can, though. It’s the easiest casting to find, and still shows up semi-frequently.
The Johnny Lightning version is pretty accurate. It’s in the middle, size-wise, and displays well with most other 1:64 cars. No opening features, but a solid casting with a detailed interior. The standout feature is that the twin side exhausts are separate plastic pieces, not part of the body or chassis castings like on the others. It gives it a more realistic look, but in my experience they never look quite right because they’re so long and thin. They’re never quite straight or level, and not great if you like to handle your cars a lot. JL does have some interesting releases for collectors, though. I’ve got one that celebrates Elvis Presley’s military service. It’s olive drab, with an Elvis mural, and mil-spec steelies and tires from a WWII-era Willys. It’s a baffling mixture of styles. Anyways. . .
My favourite, the Shelby Collectibles version. It’s a wonderfully solid little casting, and the opening features are remarkably tight. They don’t sag, and are neither hard to open nor to keep shut. They’re better than any of my Hot Wheels or Matchbox with opening doors, from any era. It’s also a quite small casting, compared to most 1:64 cars. The real car isn’t very large, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this version’s true scale is smaller than 1:64. It’s not too bad, but can look a little goofy next to some larger castings.
I didn’t know there was a Kyosho version. I prefer buying my cars in-person, and it’s not a brand I’ve ever come across. I’ll have to start looking online now.
P.S. Pete Brock’s latest project is an aerodynamic enclosed car trailer called the Aerovault. He also owns a Superformance replica Daytona Coupe, and has photographed the two together many times. Greenlight makes a 1:64 Aerovault in their Hitch & Tow series. All I’m saying is, there’s some synergy to be had if you’re a Brock fan.
Thanks for the insight. I have the GL Aerovault and have been to the factory to see the full-size ones being made. It’s every bit as clever a design as you’d expect from him!
The Kyosho looks awful next to the Shelby Diecast in my opinion and I love Kyosho.
WOW! Incredible side by side with the Hot Wheels model! … The HW’s version almost looks like a parody!
Shelby Daytona Coupe is one of my favo(u)rite models to collect also! In your pictures, Graham, #15 with white rims is the HW Circuit Legends premium, and #26 with chrome rims is the mainline? Or is one of them a Jonny L?
White rims is the HW Circuit Legends, #26 is the Shelby Collectibles model