1965 Shelby / De Tomaso P70 Can-Am Sports Racer

This singular P70 Sports Racer is the result of a collaboration fraught with tension between Carroll Shelby (of Shelby Mustang fame) and Alejandro de Tomaso (of Pantera fame). The two automotive heads worked together to create the P70 prototype for the United States Road Racing Championship, a series which Shelby dominated with its monstrous Cobra. But it was never to be due to Ford’s request for Shelby to oversee the GT40 Le Mans project. The chassis P70-001 is a Peter Brock design and is powered by a mid-mounted small-block V8 engine. It looks more like a land-based rocketship than a car thanks to its long tail section, low slung profile, huge rear wing, red body, and gold wheels. How it would’ve performed on the circuit will never be known, but it stands as an obscure icon of in the pantheon of rare race cars. It’s about to go up for auction at The Quail Lodge from August 15-16 and should command serious money due to its rarity and history.