Shelby Camar Cobra never built 427 Daytona Coupe.

Shelby American unveiled the Shelby Camar Cobra that Carroll Shelby had hoped to enter in the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans at the Carlisle Ford Nationals in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, last weekend.

The Camar Cobra was based on one of Shelby's continuing Cobra Daytona coupes, now an official concept.

The original Daytona is legendary: just six were built between 1964 and 1965, helping it win the FIA World Sports Car Championship constructors' title in 1965. [According to Gary Patterson, president of Shelby American, the original Daytona was powered by a 289 Ford V-8, but Shelby wanted to install a Ford big block to make it more competitive at Le Mans. But what Shelby really wanted was the rare 427 V-8 with a single overhead cam.

Known as the Cammer, this engine, according to Patterson, produced 616 hp with a single four-barrel carburetor and 657 hp with a dual four-barrel setup. The engine required a longer chassis to fit in the Daytona Coupe, but this did not prevent Shelby from racing such a configuration at Le Mans in 1964

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Instead, Shelby was unable to secure one of the engines before the race. As a result, he ended up with a NASCAR 427 V-8 engine, but the car built in this configuration was not ready for Le Mans, and in subsequent races Shelby would use a 289 V-8 engine

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The modern Shelby Camar Cobra was built to celebrate Shelby American's 60th anniversary this year. In keeping with Shelby's original vision, the chassis was lengthened by three inches and the hood was modified to accommodate a 427 V-8 with a single overhead cam. This state-of-the-art engine was rated at 650 hp and was mated to a four-speed manual.

Shelby American will display the Camar Cobra throughout the year to gauge demand for limited production.