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Shelby Daytona Coupe Earns National Historic Status

The Shelby Daytona Coupe, the first American car ever to win the FIA World Sportscar Championship, will become the first vehicle to be placed on the National Historic Vehicle Register.
1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe 1 photo
Photo: Ford
Founded by the Historic Vehicle Association in collaboration with the US Department of Interior and The Library of Congress as a permanent archive of significant historic vehicles, the National Historic Vehicle Register kicks off by documenting the CSX2287 Shelby Daytona Coupe prototype.

The 1964 Shelby Daytona will also become the first automobile under the US Heritage Documentation, joining more than 40,000 historic building and monuments that are significant to the history of the United States.

The 1964 Shelby Daytona Coupe (CSX2287) was the first of six Daytona Coupes produced. The prototype was completed in January 1964 by Shelby American, Inc. in Los Angeles, being the only one built at the company’s US headquarters. Designed by Peter Brock, the Daytona Coupe won the FIA World Sportscar Championship in 1965.

The race car scored 10 overall and class wins in 1964 and 1965 and set 23 land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats.

“Today is an important day for national automotive heritage," said Mark Gessler, President of the Historic Vehicle Association. "It has been nearly 120 years since the first automobiles were produced in the U.S. During that time, we have implemented national programs to recognize our historic buildings, airplanes, spacecraft and vessels but not our historic automobiles. Through our work, we hope to celebrate the contribution of the industry's pioneers, the vehicles they produced and the preservation efforts necessary to ensure future generations appreciate the unique roll of the automobile in shaping America."
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About the author: Ciprian Florea
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Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer.
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