Lots of cars from that era had similar noses. The Jaguar series 1 XKE is another example. However, the most distinctive feature of the Daytona Coupes, IMO, is the "Kamm tail" rear end. That was inspired by German research into aerodynamics from the late 1930's which was widely disseminated after the war to all the US auto manufacturers.
MkIV Roadster build: Gen 2 Coyote, IRS, TKO600. Ordered 10/24/18. Delivered 1/29/19. Engine installed 8/8/21. First start 9/12/21. First go-kart 9/17/21. Off to paint 4/11/22. Back from paint 12/30/22. Build thread here.
Lots of cars from that era had similar noses. The Jaguar series 1 XKE is another example. However, the most distinctive feature of the Daytona Coupes, IMO, is the "Kamm tail" rear end. That was inspired by German research into aerodynamics from the late 1930's which was widely disseminated after the war to all the US auto manufacturers.
Peter Brock designed the car, and many many cars influenced his design.
His major departure was the camback tail, and even that had been used to some extent on the Ferrari 250 GTO SWB in 1962, just not as exaggerated.
The most amazing thing about the car is how effective the shape was without any aerodynamic testing other than the theory expounded on in the German articles.
One of the distinctive features of the Kamm tail is that the high point of the roof is not at the leading edge. If you look at the original Daytona (2287) the high point of the roof is roughly above the rear axle. When Shelby contracted Carrozzeria Gransport in Italy to make the subsequent Daytonas they thought that the roofline of 2287 was ugly and gave the rest of the cars a more aesthetically-pleasing "Italian" roofline, similar to the Ferrari's of the day. The FFR Coupe roofline is definitely more representative of the Italian-roofed Daytona's rather than the original Brock-designed Coupe. However, the Brock-designed coupe with the more "correct" Kamm tail was definitely faster than the Italian-roofed Daytonas (reportedly several MPH faster on the Mulsanne straight At Le Mans).
MkIV Roadster build: Gen 2 Coyote, IRS, TKO600. Ordered 10/24/18. Delivered 1/29/19. Engine installed 8/8/21. First start 9/12/21. First go-kart 9/17/21. Off to paint 4/11/22. Back from paint 12/30/22. Build thread here.
Actually, only the first three out of the five Italian built cars had their roof design(which the FFR coupe is patterned after), after that Peter Brock was there to supervise the last two cars, and their roof lines were more in line with his original design.
Lots of cars from that era had similar noses. The Jaguar series 1 XKE is another example. However, the most distinctive feature of the Daytona Coupes, IMO, is the "Kamm tail" rear end. That was inspired by German research into aerodynamics from the late 1930's which was widely disseminated after the war to all the US auto manufacturers.
A good friend of mine is the grandson of Wunibald Kamm who designed the "Kammback". Thanks for sharing the story, I sent it to my friend who enjoyed the read. His comment was, "it would have been nice to get a shred of his brain power". Fortunately, his kids seem to have picked up some of the Kamm math talent.
James
Mk4 Roadster #9974 - Picked Up 1/2021. Complete kit, Gen 2 Ford Coyote / TKX, IRS. Completed 9/2023
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Originally Posted by JohnK
