The one of a kind 2004 Shelby Cobra concept car (Ford Special Project Codename: Daisy) is going to be auctioned off by Mecum at their Monterey 2021 auction from August 12-14.
Anyone guess how much this is going to go for?
www.mecum.com
HIGHLIGHTS
The 2004 Shelby Cobra Concept is powered by a 6.4L/605 HP 40-valve aluminum V-10 with dry-sump lubrication. It is one of four experimental engines produced by Ford’s Advanced Powertrain group (the other three remain in Ford’s possession). Power is transferred through a torque tube to the rear-mounted Ricardo 6-speed Ford GT manual transaxle.
The all-aluminum space frame chassis was designed by Ford’s Advanced Product Creation team, utilizing Ford GT extrusions and castings, along with a bespoke billet aluminum front structure. The front and rear independent suspensions are from the Ford GT, tuned specifically for Daisy. Steering is power-assisted rack-and-pinion, and stopping power is provided by Brembo cross-drilled and ventilated discs with four-piston monoblock calipers. The show car was fitted with custom BF Goodrich Racing Slicks (not for road use) mounted on unique seven-spoke BBS billet wheels, and it was fitted with BBS three-piece wheels and Michelin tires for Shelby’s drive at the Irwindale Speedway.
To cope with the stresses of a high-performance car, the body is made of a double-wall fiberglass construction with a foam core for rigidity. The one-piece tilting hood is hydraulically operated to show off the unique engine and chassis. Exterior details include billet aluminum A-pillars, bumperettes with carbon fiber splitters, rockers and rear diffuser.
Thanks to the rear-mounted transaxle, weight distribution is approximately 50/50, and Daisy is barely longer than a Mazda Miata, yet the interior provides more legroom than a Ford Crown Victoria. The bespoke interior is all custom, with a billet aluminum dashboard, headrests and novel interior release handles along with carbon fiber details. The custom leather-covered Sparco seats are made of carbon fiber with four-point Sparco seatbelts.
By December of 2003, Daisy was ready for a photo shoot with Carroll Shelby followed by two days of testing at the Irwindale Speedway in California. During those two days, Shelby put more than 150 miles on Daisy doing high speed runs around the oval, taking journalists for rides, and doing a flurry of donuts on the infield. At the end of day two, he said, “It turned out just beautiful, didn’t it? I’m very happy with the car. At 81 years old, how lucky can you get to be part of a continuation of something that happened 40 years ago? It’s going to be a real ass kicker!” Perhaps Matt Stone of Motor Trend summed it up best; after a test ride with Shelby, Stone noted that it was of little concern to Shelby “that he was driving a multimillion-dollar hand-built prototype, as he stabs the gas and takes the racer’s low line through a long, sweeping corner,” and concluded, “There’s one final reason Ford should—no, must—give us the Cobra: to put the final, iconic punctuation mark on Carroll Shelby’s extraordinary life, with a car that’s worthy of the name.”
The Shelby Cobra Concept was introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit by Bill Ford and Carroll Shelby to great fanfare. Autoweek magazine awarded Daisy Best-in-Show. The Cobra Concept continued on the auto show circuit for many years and starred as the hero car in the movie “XXX: State of the Union,” driven by Ice Cube.
Although Daisy was intended for production in 2007, the looming “Great Recession” precluded progam approval, making this car one of one and “The Last Shelby Cobra.” To Theodore’s delight, he purchased the Shelby Cobra Concept at a charity auction, with proceeds going towards the restoration of the Fair Lane mansion, the home of Henry and Clara Ford. Ford disabled Daisy for liability purposes, so Theodore took her to the very team that had assembled the chassis: Technosports in Livonia, Michigan. It was restored to running condition by fitting a new transmission output shaft manufactured to original specifications by Livernois Motorsports of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, and it was also fitted with a new twin-plate clutch, flywheel, wiring harness, spark plugs and mufflers, and all fluids were replaced as well. The car was shown at the 2018 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and 2018 Concours d’Elegance of America in Plymouth, Michigan. In 2020, it was featured on “Jay Leno’s Garage” Season 6, Episode 1 with Donald Osborn and Chris Theodore. Daisy is also the subject of the award-winning book, “The Last Shelby Cobra, My Times with Carroll Shelby” by Chris Theodore.
The 2004 Shelby Cobra Concept is now titled and licensed for the road. Designed and built by Ford in cooperation with Carroll Shelby, racer, team owner, manufacturer and “The most interesting man in the world,” Daisy received Shelby’s signature of approval after his Irwindale test drive. Appropriately, Daisy is now ready for the next chapter in its storied history as it heads for the Mecum auction block this August at Monterey 2021—the site of the Shelby/Ford announcement 18 years earlier. Accompanying Daisy will be a Letter of Authenticity from Ford Motor Company, a detailed Daisy build book presented to Ford COO Nick Sheele, extensive photographs taken during design and development with Carroll Shelby, and a certificate from the Shelby Registry.
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Anyone guess how much this is going to go for?
2004 Ford Shelby Cobra Concept at Monterey 2021 asS105 - Mecum Auctions
2004 Ford Shelby Cobra Concept crossing the block at Monterey 2021 in , at the as S105.
www.mecum.com
HIGHLIGHTS
- Ford Special Project Codename: Daisy
- Built by Ford with full cooperation and participation of Carroll Shelby
- Driven and tested for more than 150 miles by Carroll Shelby at Irwindale Speedway in California
- Carroll Shelby said of Project Daisy, “There are so many things left in the world that I want to do … and building a new Cobra is number one.”
- Chris Theodore, former Ford VP of Product Development, oversaw the design and build of Daisy along with Carroll Shelby and J Mays, GVP Ford Design
- Introduced at the 2004 Detroit North American International Auto Show, where it was awarded Best in Show by “Autoweek” magazine
- 1 of 1 fully functioning Project Daisy concept car intended for production
- Titled and plated for the road
- Prototype engineered welded and bonded space frame, made up of billet aluminum plus castings and extruded aluminum sections sourced from the Ford GT
- 6.4L/605 HP DOHC 40-valve aluminum V-10 with dry sump lubrication—1 of 4 specialty V-10 engines produced by Ford Advanced Powertrain
- Power is transferred through a torque tube to the rear mounted Ricardo 6-speed Ford GT manual transaxle
- Currently owned by Chris Theodore, who purchased Daisy in November 2017
- Proceeds of Chris Theodore's purchase were used towards the restoration of the Fair Lane mansion, the home of Henry and Clara Ford
- Restored to running form by Technosports of Livonia, Michigan, assembler of the original Cobra Concept chassis
- Fitted with a new twin-plate clutch, flywheel, wiring harness, spark plugs, mufflers and all fluids
- New output shaft made to original specifications by Livernois Motorsports of Dearborn Heights, Michigan
- Hydraulically operated power hood
- Tungsten Grey Metallic exterior with Silver stripes
- Blue and Black interior with aluminum trim
- Daisy is barely longer than a Mazda Miata, yet thanks to the rear mounted traxsaxle, provides a spacious interior with more legroom than a Ford Crown Victoria
- 2005 Ford GT front and rear suspension, Power assisted rack-and-pinion steering and Brembo cross-drilled and ventilated disc brakes with 4-piston monoblock calipers
- Includes both original BF Goodrich Racing Slicks (not for road) mounted on BBS Billet show car wheels, and the BBS 3-piece wheels and Goodyear tires fitted during Carroll Shelby's drive at the Irwindale Speedway
- Featured on one hour “Rides” television episode “Codename: Daisy”
- Driven by Jay Leno on “Jay Leno's Garage” Season 6, Episode 1 with Donald Osborn and Chris Theodore
- Hero car driven by Ice Cube in the movie “XXX: State of the Union”
- Appeared at the 2018 Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance
- Shown at the 2018 Concours d'Elegance of America in Plymouth, Michigan
- Subject of the award-winning book, “The Last Shelby Cobra” by Chris Theodore
- Letter of Authenticity from Ford Motor Company included
- Build book presented to Ford CEO, Nick Scheele, included
- Ford Shelby Cobra Promotional Brochure included
- Extensive photographs taken during design and development with Carroll Shelby included
- Listed in the Shelby Registry
The 2004 Shelby Cobra Concept is powered by a 6.4L/605 HP 40-valve aluminum V-10 with dry-sump lubrication. It is one of four experimental engines produced by Ford’s Advanced Powertrain group (the other three remain in Ford’s possession). Power is transferred through a torque tube to the rear-mounted Ricardo 6-speed Ford GT manual transaxle.
The all-aluminum space frame chassis was designed by Ford’s Advanced Product Creation team, utilizing Ford GT extrusions and castings, along with a bespoke billet aluminum front structure. The front and rear independent suspensions are from the Ford GT, tuned specifically for Daisy. Steering is power-assisted rack-and-pinion, and stopping power is provided by Brembo cross-drilled and ventilated discs with four-piston monoblock calipers. The show car was fitted with custom BF Goodrich Racing Slicks (not for road use) mounted on unique seven-spoke BBS billet wheels, and it was fitted with BBS three-piece wheels and Michelin tires for Shelby’s drive at the Irwindale Speedway.
To cope with the stresses of a high-performance car, the body is made of a double-wall fiberglass construction with a foam core for rigidity. The one-piece tilting hood is hydraulically operated to show off the unique engine and chassis. Exterior details include billet aluminum A-pillars, bumperettes with carbon fiber splitters, rockers and rear diffuser.
Thanks to the rear-mounted transaxle, weight distribution is approximately 50/50, and Daisy is barely longer than a Mazda Miata, yet the interior provides more legroom than a Ford Crown Victoria. The bespoke interior is all custom, with a billet aluminum dashboard, headrests and novel interior release handles along with carbon fiber details. The custom leather-covered Sparco seats are made of carbon fiber with four-point Sparco seatbelts.
By December of 2003, Daisy was ready for a photo shoot with Carroll Shelby followed by two days of testing at the Irwindale Speedway in California. During those two days, Shelby put more than 150 miles on Daisy doing high speed runs around the oval, taking journalists for rides, and doing a flurry of donuts on the infield. At the end of day two, he said, “It turned out just beautiful, didn’t it? I’m very happy with the car. At 81 years old, how lucky can you get to be part of a continuation of something that happened 40 years ago? It’s going to be a real ass kicker!” Perhaps Matt Stone of Motor Trend summed it up best; after a test ride with Shelby, Stone noted that it was of little concern to Shelby “that he was driving a multimillion-dollar hand-built prototype, as he stabs the gas and takes the racer’s low line through a long, sweeping corner,” and concluded, “There’s one final reason Ford should—no, must—give us the Cobra: to put the final, iconic punctuation mark on Carroll Shelby’s extraordinary life, with a car that’s worthy of the name.”
The Shelby Cobra Concept was introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit by Bill Ford and Carroll Shelby to great fanfare. Autoweek magazine awarded Daisy Best-in-Show. The Cobra Concept continued on the auto show circuit for many years and starred as the hero car in the movie “XXX: State of the Union,” driven by Ice Cube.
Although Daisy was intended for production in 2007, the looming “Great Recession” precluded progam approval, making this car one of one and “The Last Shelby Cobra.” To Theodore’s delight, he purchased the Shelby Cobra Concept at a charity auction, with proceeds going towards the restoration of the Fair Lane mansion, the home of Henry and Clara Ford. Ford disabled Daisy for liability purposes, so Theodore took her to the very team that had assembled the chassis: Technosports in Livonia, Michigan. It was restored to running condition by fitting a new transmission output shaft manufactured to original specifications by Livernois Motorsports of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, and it was also fitted with a new twin-plate clutch, flywheel, wiring harness, spark plugs and mufflers, and all fluids were replaced as well. The car was shown at the 2018 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance and 2018 Concours d’Elegance of America in Plymouth, Michigan. In 2020, it was featured on “Jay Leno’s Garage” Season 6, Episode 1 with Donald Osborn and Chris Theodore. Daisy is also the subject of the award-winning book, “The Last Shelby Cobra, My Times with Carroll Shelby” by Chris Theodore.
The 2004 Shelby Cobra Concept is now titled and licensed for the road. Designed and built by Ford in cooperation with Carroll Shelby, racer, team owner, manufacturer and “The most interesting man in the world,” Daisy received Shelby’s signature of approval after his Irwindale test drive. Appropriately, Daisy is now ready for the next chapter in its storied history as it heads for the Mecum auction block this August at Monterey 2021—the site of the Shelby/Ford announcement 18 years earlier. Accompanying Daisy will be a Letter of Authenticity from Ford Motor Company, a detailed Daisy build book presented to Ford COO Nick Sheele, extensive photographs taken during design and development with Carroll Shelby, and a certificate from the Shelby Registry.
