what car did carroll shelby win le mans in

[LeManuel]

Carroll Shelby, alongside co-driver Dan Gurney, won the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. This victory was monumental as it was the first major international win for an American GT car, breaking Ferrari's long-standing dominance in the class. The car, chassis number CSX2287, competed in the GT class over 5.0 liters.

The Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe was a purpose-built racing version of the AC Cobra, designed by Pete Brock to be more aerodynamic for high-speed European tracks like the Circuit de la Sarthe. Its sleek, closed-body coupe design drastically reduced drag compared to the standard open-top Cobra roadster. Under the hood, it packed a ferocious 7.0-liter Ford V8 engine, producing over 400 horsepower. This win was a key moment in the fierce Ford vs. Ferrari rivalry of the 1960s, proving that American engineering could compete with and beat the best from Italy on the world stage.

Year	Event	Winning Car	Drivers	Class	Result (Laps Completed)
1964	24 Hours of Le Mans	Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe	Dan Gurney / Bob Bondurant	GT 5.0+	334 laps
1964	24 Hours of Le Mans	Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe	Carroll Shelby / Phil Hill	GT 5.0+	Did Not Finish (Engine)
1965	24 Hours of Le Mans	Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe	Jochen Neerpasch / Peter de Klerk	GT 5.0+	6th Place (331 laps)
1965	12 Hours of Reims	Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe	Jack Sears / Dick Thompson	GT 5.0+	1st Place
1964	24 Hours of Le Mans (Overall)	Ferrari 275 P	Jean Guichet / Nino Vaccarella	P 5.0	349 laps

While Shelby's own car retired from that 1964 race, the team car driven by Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant took the class win, securing the championship for Shelby American. This victory cemented Shelby's legacy not just as a brilliant driver, but as a masterful team owner and car builder.

[IanMarie]

He won driving a Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe back in '64. It wasn't the overall winner, but it was the big GT class winner, which was a huge deal. That little coupe beat Ferrari at their own game. It’s the car that really put American racing on the map in Europe. An absolute legend.

[Susie]

The specific car was the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, chassis CSX2287. It's crucial to distinguish this from the standard AC Cobra roadster. The Daytona Coupe was a specialized, low-drag design created solely to win endurance races like Le Mans. Its victory in the GT class in 1964 was a strategic masterstroke in the Ford vs. Ferrari war, proving the Cobra's potential when optimized for a specific task.

[StClara]

You're thinking of the 1964 race. Shelby and Dan Gurney were in one of the beautiful Cobra Daytona Coupes. It had a closed roof and a long tail, totally different from the Cobras you usually see. That thing was a rocket on the Mulsanne Straight thanks to its Ford V8. They won their class, which was the whole point—to finally beat the Ferraris.

[SanBraxton]

That would be the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans. He drove a car he helped create: the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe. It was a landmark win for American motorsports. The car itself was a modified AC Cobra with a streamlined body, built to hit higher speeds and take on Ferrari's GT cars. That victory was the culmination of a lot of hard work and a brilliant engineering effort.