The Daytona was featured in American Car World's February 2006 issue, and recieved a favourable review. See here for back issues.
Back in 1952, whilst England was crowning Elizabeth II, Carroll Shelby was embarking upon his racing career. His abilities took him from racing a Flathead Ford V8 powered hot rod in early 1952, progressing on to circuits in an MG TC - often beating more powerful opposition - before piloting a Cadillac powered Allard, itself a forerunner in concept to the Cobra. It was at the helm of the Allard that John Wyer, then Aston Martin team manager, spotted him and in 1954 he was invited to drive the works DB3S at Sebring in Florida. It would be just five years later in 1959 that Shelby partnered Roy Salvadori in a DBR1 to take overall victory at Le Mans!
Just a year and a half later, Shelby would be driving his last race. Having been diagnosed with Angina Pectoralis, a disease that starves the coronary arteries of blood, Shelby was forced to retire - but he went out on a high by winning the 1960 USAC Drivers Championship. And so he moved into building cars, and in 1961 he spotted his opportunity when AC cars of Thames Ditton in England lost the supply of 2.6 litre engines from Bristol, which they had been fitting to their pretty AC Ace sportscar. Shelby struck a deal with AC, and in February 1962 a complete Ace minus engine adn transmission was shipped over to Shelby, fitted with the new thin-wall Hi-Po 260ci (4.2 litre) Ford V8, mated to a Borg Warner four-speed gearbox. The Cobra was born.
Racing success came thick and fast for the Cobra, soundly beating the one ton heavier Corvettes, and soon Shelby was pitching the Cobra into international competition at Sebring and Daytona - but being beaten by the Ferrari GTOs. The Cobra finished 7th behind Ferrari at 1963 Le Mans on it's debut, the GTOs hitting 180mph down the Mulsanne Straight, the Cobra roadster just didn't have that kind of straightline speed, even though on short circuits it had proved to be highly competitive. Shelby knew he had to do something, and in September 1963 hired Pete Brock to redesign the body into a more aerodynamic shape. The first Daytona Coupe was completed by February the following year, and was setting lap records straight out of the box. In June 1964 the Daytona went to Le Mans and beat Ferrari - Shelby had realised his dream.
By the time I was growing up in the 1970s, the Cobra was no longer in production, so the first I heard of it was whilst reading the 1975 Guinness Book of Records, to find out what the fastest cars in the world were. The Top Speed record was held by the Porsche 917 at 235mph, but the 0-60mph sprint showed that the 427 Cobra was king, at 4.2 seconds. That was a second and a half quicker than any supercar in production, so imagine how fast the Cobra must have been compared to it's rivals a decade or so earlier! I was hooked by the looks of this legendary monster, and so it seemed were many others - in the 1980s a Cobra replicas proliferated, quality and accuracy ranging from awful to awesome. These days, you assume that when you see a Cobra it is a replica, such is their popularity. But it's always surprised me that no-one ever made a replica of the Daytona coupe, but thankfully that’s now been rectified.
Ross Halifax, a competitor in the UK Street Racer series, and Ian Briggs, proprietor of British American Engines, came up with the plan to bring an affordable Daytona Coupe to the UK, without compromising the exotic specification of the original, or giving anything away to their more expensive rival. So British American Daytonas was born, and we've driven their first example.
When we arrived at the Romney Marsh HQ, Ross and Ian were busily cleaning the car ready for our test. The Daytona is one of those shapes that you can stand and stare at indefinitely, and before I knew it 2 hours and half a deck of Marlboros Lights later I realised that I was still wandering around the car, crouching down, looking around every curve of the car. This isn't a Lexus, it's a replica of a race car, but even still the light reflects evenly across the side of the body, revealing the quality of the moulding and paintwork. The details such as the asymmetrically placed scoops, the lights tucked into the front valence, and how the modernities like side repeater lights being so tastefully blended into the side vents set it off a treat. I imagine that if you had one of these babies in your garage it would be very hard not to keep going and sneaking a look at it, and each time you'd be thinking how utterly gorgeous the shape is and also how B***** frightened you are at the prospect of manning such a vicious beast.
Why? This is a 7 litre, 550bhp, 1150kg Le Mans replica. It's not a Nissan Almera. It will bite you if you mess with it. This car is not a effette, lithe machine. It is a snarling, muscle rippling thug of a car, and you'd be wise not to forget that. But with an engine such as this, it is difficult to forget. The moment you crank it into life, the V8 emits a loping, lazy waffle from its very free flowing sidepipes, scattering dust all over the previously clean bodywork, each beat of the big-inch small block clearly audible. This isn't a machine that has computers nannying you around bends, no ABS, no Sat Nav, Air Con or Electric Windows here. It has a full cage, a 427, a 9" Ford axle with Detroit Locker, and a Tremec TKO five-speed manual. And you, the driver. As driving experiences go it's pretty darn pure.
We get in, using the plip key fob to open the door, and find the interior surprisingly roomy. There's easily enough room for my 6'2" frame with a crash helmet, and the dash is nicely trimmed in Alcantara. My right knee scuffed the bottom of the dash, but this being a tailor made car, rather than an off-the-peg machine, means that this could easily be changed were a car to be made for a taller customer.
The engine is a stroked version of the Ford Windsor V8. Usually displacing 351ci (5.8 litres) this example has been expertly put together by Jez Hodge of Custom Power & Paint, British American Engines partner. Jez has fitted this engine with a crankshaft that increases capacity to 427ci (7 Litres), and a Daytona should have a 7-litre engine, right?! Sitting inside a small coupe with this engine rumbling away is akin to getting inside a giant bass speaker in a club, the noise engulfs you. Being on public roads, we're not going to be throwing this car about sideways, so don't expect us to tell you how the car handles on the limit! What we can tell you is how the car is to drive in what will be it's new habitat, the real world of day to day Britain. We taxi out to the main road, unassisted steering heavy, but not overly so, and the huge torque of the V8 means that it is surprisingly pleasant to trundle along at 40mph, the water temperature and oil pressure guages giving you confidence inspiring readings, unlike many a race replica I have owned!
The brakes have been upgraded recently, and at first the pedal seems soft, but is actually nicely linear in it's operation, and the harder you press it the harder you brake. So many modern cars have a brake pedal like a hair trigger, which are horrible to use gently. We realise what a great car this is for a track day, RWYB, or just a cross country trip to your favourite pub. Even a trip to Le Mans can be taken in this cars stride, having been there earlier this year the Daytona attracted massive attention from the fans, and the same can be said for here too - be prepared to be stared and pointed at wherever you go!
The large glass rear hatch and large flat space behind the seats means that you won't have to stay up all night at Le Mans either, there’s easily enough space for a tent and two peoples luggage back there - the Daytona is surprisingly practical from that point of view. Less so in the fuel consumption department - you don't buy a car like this to cut fuel bills, especially when you first realise how addictive acceleration of the kind this car can muster is. It just begs you to give the throttle a blip from any speed and feel the unrelenting push in the back once again. You might try to drive it sensibly, but you'll need the patience of a saint to carry it off!
The power and weight claims are entirely realistic, this car will run mid 11 second 1/4 miles no problem. I'm not sure if I'd like to prove it's 200mph top speed, but the engine feels good for it. The ride is very smooth for a car this mad, the suspension soaking up bumps and level crossings with ease - BAD have done alot of development work in this area. There aren't any rattles or sqeaks around the dashboard or the body, remarkable given the size of the flip front.
As we arrive back at the workshop, we pull up alongside two Cobra replicas brought along by the SE Cobra Club, and see just how different the Daytona is compared to the Cobra. It is said that familiarity breeds contempt, and perhaps the Cobra suffers unfairly from that, but the rarity and purposeful beauty of the Daytona's shape is something that made even the Cobra boys salivate as they awaited their turn for a spin in the Coupe.
The best thing of all with the Daytona is that unlike most of our feature cars, that this is a car you can buy turnkey or build in your garage. They may not be cheap, but they are very affordable, and the thought of having a useable, working replica of one of the most desirable and historic cars ever made is something we are finding hard to resist.
Words: Chris Jenkins. |
