Michel Stassart

The 1965 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe CSX2299

Driven by Dan Gurney & Bob Bondurant

In 1963 Peter Brock designed this new coupe body and assured everyone at Shelby American this was the best design. He was, in fact, quite correct as the end result was the first and only American built FIA GT World Champion. CSX 2299 was the second coupe built, the first to wear Italian coachwork (by Carrozzeria Gransport in Modena, Italy), though it distinguishes from the other cars by a slightly higher roof and therefore higher windscreen. This Chassis number carries the best race history of the six coupes built. It competed in a total of ten FIA events in 1964 & 1965. Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant won the GT at the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, the car was painted Viking Blue with two thin longitudinal white stripes. Two months later Dan Gurney drove the car to a GT win at Goodwood Tourist Trophy. Early in 1965, victories at the Daytona 2000 km and Sebring 12 Hours and a fourth place at Le Mans were added to the car's history with a new color scheme in Guardsman Blue with two broad longitudinal white stripes and the year ended with a FIA World Sportscar Championship in 1965 for the Daytona Coupe....

Only six of these successful racing cars were ever build at the time, mostly by hand and therefore slightly different from each other. CSX 2287; 2286; 2299; 2300; 2601; 2602, but each time on an AC Cobra 289 chassis with corresponding engine.

The 1/8 scale model car of the Cobra Daytona Coupe was originally build starting from a white sheet of paper using iconography, descriptions gathered from every possible source and self-made plans, the model was designed piece by piece. That took over one and half years to complete. All parts and pieces are home made to the highest precision and assembled, mostly bolted, to keep to the highest standards of quality. The whole frame and suspension are made of brass; many small pieces are made of solid aluminium or tin. For some parts polyester is used. The scale model represents the Le Mans 1964 Gurney/Bondurant winning car (CSX2299 in Viking Blue) or the 1965 Le Mans car N°9 (CSX2286 in Guardsman Blue). The fabrication and assembly of the model car takes at least six months to complete, as there are far more than 5000 individual pieces.
The finished model car measures 26.6 inches/68 cm long and 7.8 inches/20 cm wide, with every part; hood, doors and rear window opening. The wheels can be detached from the axle by removing the nuts.

1:8th scale