It's not fair to say that Dodge ripped off the Shelby Daytona Cobra Coupe when it created the original Viper GTS--but the idea for the latter wasn't 100-percent original, either. No matter, both have been ultrasuccessful. Inasmuch as the Cobra roadster begat a closed-bodied, more aerodynamic version, so did the original, and now current, generation Viper. The Peter Brock-designed Shelby coupes had their way with international sports-car racing in the mid-1960s, culminating in a GT-class world championship in 1965. This photo shows the Bob Johnson/Tom Payne (#10) and Allen Grant/Jo Schlesser (#12) Cobras at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1965; Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant won the GT class there in a Daytona Cobra the year before. It wasn't until 1998 that another American car--the Dodge Viper GTS-R--stormed the GT category at Le Mans. These all-conquering Viper coupes repeated the trick in 1999 and 2000, making them among the most successful American-production racers since the original Cobras themselves.
Coverage Fall 1965
November means "Buyer's Guide" at MT, now, as it did in 1965. Then, however, there were a lot fewer cars and trucks, so we could easily cover them all in one issue instead of two. A quick review of this cover marks the passage of time, as there are no more Dodge Coronets or Oldsmobile Toronados, and the only convertible Caddy available is a two-seater. The Ford Thunderbird is (once again) on its way out, while the Chevy Malibu SS is poised to return.