Ferrari GTO vs. Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe

And remember the GTO was beat in some races back then by fairly stock Jaguar XKE's too. It was a high priced car by comparison to the Jag, but was not the 'supercar' it is today. XKE's bring peanuts and there were not that many of those built in total of early cars and even Enzo himself praised the Jag lines and design. Still pretty spectacular today alongside those GTO's and Cobras. I love them all, but the XKE coupe is still very nice in design for its day. And still affordable for most compared to the million dollar plus stuff.

 

Can't believe I missed the show! Both the GTO and the Daytona Coupes are legends.

Docf

 

To answer your question Joe, Price at auction does not reflect original cost or value. It's how far one bidder is willing to go to outbid another. Ferrari, as you said, is about Passion and someones passion was 20.mil worth.


Viva la passion...Andrew.

 

7.25M mid-'geddon ...

http://www.mecum.com/auctions/lot_detail.cfm?LOT_ID=CA0809-82174&entryRow=103

 

I think you should shake your piggy-bank and put a bid on the Daytona. he he. I believe the 250 in question was to complete a set ( you know those few spare square meters in the grand hall )

 

The GTO did not loose, it won for many seasons and helped to put Ferrari on the map. The Daytona might have ultimately won but where is Ford and Shelby now? ... making boring production cars or doing nothing but lending his name to replicas.

Thus you have one brand that has become if you like the greatest car on earth, and the other that died or did nothing with that win ... it is easy to see why the last great front engined road registered car that happened to win races (against almost anything including Jags and Fords with larger engines) gets such a premium.
Pete
ps: Rather own a genuine original GT40 myself than the Daytona coupe.

 

Joe:
I too watched the special --Greatest American Race car-- or something like that. It was a great show with some tremendous historical footage and Dave Friedman's stills.

In my opinion, the difference in value between the Cobra Coupe and the GTO has to due with the long term single minded effort that Ferrari has made to auto racing. Sure, Shelby went and beat the best in the world. That was what they set out to do, they did it and then quit. Ford came back with the factory team and the GT-40 and beat the P4's at LeMans and then quit. Simply put, Ferrari has been the benchmark against which other teams compete.

The Cobra Coupe was basically a one off effort to do one thing...win the GT class against Ferrari. Ferrari, although beaten, continued to race at the highest levels of international competition.

Teams with the longest continuous history are the most valuable. Think about the future value of a McLaren F1 car from 2009 compared to a 2009 Brawn. The Brawn won the WDC and the WCC, but I will bet that the Mac will have a higher value in the future. A body of work helps create that value and desirability.

It is this very fact that is driving the whole Ferrari Chassiche program. Ferrari as a company has created all of these cars over a long time, but paid no attention to them. Now that others have paid attention and value has been created, the Factory wants to control that value. The simple fact is that they don't own their history and the fact that it exists at all is due to others finding value in those old cars. While they are making a grab for it, they have been shooting themselves in the foot so many times that they are doomed to failure.

 

you should really read more about the 250 GTO. You will find how well it really did in the early 60s.

Don't forget everyone... that all of the shelby cars were in essence factory backed race teams.

With 39 GTOs... majority were customer cars.

 

When Carrol kicks the Bucket..wait a few years and see!

Real Cobras will continue to soar, and the daytona will reach immortality as well..

Besides Carroll did not cheat on his wife as bad as Enzo did.

It makes for an more interesting story line..

You know, his heartbreak about not being there for Dino etc.


Flame suit on!

 

Firstly the Daytona Cobra Coupe did sell north of 7MM $.

Secondly it's not " most important car in American racing history".

 

As a slight aside what do you consider the "most important car in American racing history?" In my opinion it is one of 4 cars a GT40, Daytona Cobra Coupe, 1921 Dusenberg won Le Mans with Jimmy Murphy, or a Corvette Grand Sport.

Erik

 

One element of the Ferrari mystique and brand value is their relentless focus on competitive motor sports. American car companies enter and exit racing based upon the transient egos of their leadership and the whims of the marketing and finance departments. Not so with Ferrari. Americans with true racing passion (Shelby, Balchowsky, Neil Ressler, Pete Brock, Penske, etc.) have carved-out their bit of history, but none were successful in building a enduring brand of the scale and value of Ferrari.

 

I think that while SHELBY cars are indeed legendary the Daytona Coupes are not iconic like the GTOs. They arent plastered all over the internet and indelibly linked with Shelby. Yes, there is definitely a "red mist" surrounding the F cars, but when people hear SHELBY they mostly think of the standard Cobra or the Mustangs. The fact that 66% of them are in private collections and rarely seen or heard of doesnt help matters.

Bottom line, IMO: They simply arent as well known as the GTOs.


PDG

 

IMO The Most important car in American Racing History would be "The Big Red One" J 5 the only car made in America to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

(A Duesenberg won the French GP held at Le Mans)

 

They are very cool.

 

If Ferrari built a baby buggy, it would sell 10 times higher than the McClaren baby buggy for sale HERE: http://www.strollers.com/Maclaren-WOX01073-EK1528.html


"I like the word Ferrari, I even like to say the word Ferrari" - Jeremy Clarkson

 

http://formula1mall.com/index.php/ferrari-iron-baby-stroller.html?___store=formula1mall_eng