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18/12/2023 2:18 pm
Bill Thomas set out to build a Cobra killer as well as a Ford killer with this uniquely designed Cheetah in 1964. Chevy provided their potent 380 hp 377 cid V8 that powered the Corvette Grand Sport as well as the rest of the drive train and Chevy NASCAR drum brakes. For 50/50 weight distribution, the engine was set so far back the the drive shaft was eliminated. The car was almost 500 lbs less than the Cobra and early runs showed staggering potential. 100 units were planned for homologation, but with only 16 cars in the works (11 completed), a fire destroyed the factory. After that Chevrolet ended its participation and that ended the program. Replicarz modeled the #33 Clarence Dixon Cadillac car as it was originally. As it exists today (last two pictures) it sports a clear acrylic hood scoop, wind deflector and Firestone Gold Line tires with different rear wheels. It could have been Chevy's answer to the Cobra, but fate saw otherwise. But what a cool looking car!
18/12/2023 2:31 pm
It is an astounding-looking automobile and replica. Very nice !
18/12/2023 3:24 pm
so incredible looking. Seems like the bodywork was stretched a tight as they could around the chassis.
18/12/2023 3:31 pm
Thank you Rich for the amazing history & pics! This car was always a mystery to me.
I remember seeing slot cars as a kid but thought it was pure fantasy. I didn't know the car was real until 10 years ago.
I've never seen this model before; it looks fantastic...too bad it's sealed. It's nice that the hood scope pops off though, and overall, there's still plenty to see. 😎 😎
Topic starter
18/12/2023 4:18 pm
@chris Replicarz has a new issue of the Cheetah Daytona as well as a street version if you're interested. Mine is also still on the market from some vendors.
19/12/2023 3:05 am
Super interesting but it doesn't compare to the beautiful Cobra IMHO. It reminds me of a roller skate.
John Kuvakas and Christopher Moroni reacted
19/12/2023 8:18 am
It reminds me of a roller skate.
Oh, how I wish you hadn't said that...... 😔 🙄 😔 🙄 There's actually some truth in that, I never noticed it before. 😔 🙄 😔
This post was modified 2 years ago by Christopher Moroni
John Kuvakas and Jack Dodds reacted
19/12/2023 11:05 am
The chevy crowd likes to go after the Cobra, first it was the Grand Sport Corvettes that were dubbed Cobra killers then it was the Cheetah that is today dubbed the Cobra killer, the truth is neither one killed the Cobra.
The Grand Sport Corvettes were faster than the small block Cobras but even at the race in the Bahamas an open run what you brung style event where the Grand Sport was dubbed the Cobra killer, Carrol Shelby and Ken Miles brought a big block Cobra, it was not a 427 but a different big block Ford engine, that big block Cobra while it did not finish the race dropping out before the end of the race due to an engine issue, by the end of the first lap had a straight a way lead on the so called Cobra killer Grand Sport Corvettes, while chevy threw down the gauntlet Shelby and Ken Miles picked up the gauntlet and showed everyone the Corvette Grand Sports had a lot of work to do if they wanted to kill the Cobra.
Next came the Cheetah that people today call the Cobra killer, but the fact is the Cheetah actually started out as a concept car built by Bill Thomas and his chief fabricator Don Edmunds with support from GM Performance Product Group Head Vince Piggins.
In 1963 Bill Thomas and General Motors Performance Product Group Head Vince Piggins conceived a covert plan to create a new proof of concept vehicle that could challenge the dominant roadsters being turned out by Carroll Shelby.
Chevrolet surreptitiously (through Vince Piggins) provided a fuel-injected 327 cu. in. Corvette V8 engine for the project, as well as an M21 4-speed transmission, a C2 Corvette differential, and heavy-duty Chevrolet stock car drum brakes.
Thomas and his chief fabricator Don Edmunds famously laid the engine, transmission, and differential out on the concrete floor of the workshop and sketched out a chassis and body design around it in chalk. Their plan was to incorporate as many best-practices as possible into the new car, including a front-mid-mounted engine for optimal weight distribution, an aerodynamic coupe body, the lowest centre of gravity possible, and the lowest weight possible – courtesy of a steel space frame chassis and a lightweight aluminum or fibreglass body.
The two greatest challenges faced by the Cheetah were caused by the fact that the car wasn’t initially intended as a race car, but as a proof of concept design. The chassis would need significant gusseting and strengthening before it was suitable for the stresses of circuit racing, and the heat build up caused by the headers wrapping around the driver and passenger foot-boxes would partially roast the legs of more than one driver.