Six Shelby Daytona Coupes were built for racing between 1964 and 1965.
The Daytona was developed from the Shelby Cobra roadster to defeat Ferrari in international GT competition. Designer Pete Brock created its distinctive aerodynamic fastback body, while Bob Negstad worked on the chassis and suspension. The enclosed coupe reduced drag on long circuits such as Le Mans's Mulsanne Straight, where the open Cobra struggled to match Ferrari's speed.
One car, chassis CSX2287, was built at Shelby American's shop in Venice, California. The remaining five were completed by Carrozzeria Gransport in Modena, Italy. Those six works cars raced at venues including Daytona, Sebring, Le Mans, Monza and the Nürburgring.
A common mix-up is counting later replicas or continuation cars. Shelby American announced a limited run of 50 continuation Daytonas in 2015, but those are separate from the six original competition cars. The original six helped Shelby win the 1965 International Championship for GT Manufacturers.