I think this kit would sell just on it's sexiness alone.

[Deathgoblin]

It also seems that there's very little pretense of being a street car.  You can tell by looking that it's primary purpose is just for racing.

[espo]

I think it has a very big WOW factor and also would enjoy building one in kit form. As BillJ pointed out they weren't successful in racing. My thought is that some of that may have been due to the drivers position in the car. The car it's self looks as though it has a 50/50 weight distribution that is considered idea. The engine was capable of good power output, the steering may or may not have been perfect. But think about the feeling you would have behind the wheel with the driver sitting almost on top of the differential. Racing aside, think about your own personal experience driving different vehicles. For myself I have spent time driving a Ford Econoline van as a delivery vehicle at a part time job while in school. You're hung out over the front wheels and I never did get comfortable in that death trap. I had a few K5 Blazers as Demo's later while in the car business, and their short wheel base, while maneuverable it can be hard sometimes not to clip a curb on a right turn. So going to the other extreme where you're sitting with your bottom resting on the differential your brain has a hard time compensating for the sensations you are accustom to while driving in a normal driving position. Maybe there is someone here that has spent time driving a vehicle that has the driver sitting this far back that can share what that experience was like for them.     

[Jon Haigwood]

I like it but I am in to "Gasser's" right now 

[Jim N]

Stacy David has been building a Cheetah kit car in his show Gearz.  As I recall, the combination of a short wheelbase and a rather potent engine is what made the car a handful to drive.  But man it looks cool!

[Racephoto1]

They were ovens on wheels. Those little rockers held in the heat. The open top one would be great.

[Spex84]

I'd buy a Cheetah kit!

[Mark]

The fanatics would go nuts over it...problem is, there aren't enough fanatics to cover the costs involved.

[64Comet404]

I want to see the Cheetah offered in a 1/24 double kit, alongside a Gee Bee R2 airplane. Both subjects seem to share the same design philosophy!!!

[Richard Bartrop]

I would say that even if you don't know what it is, it still has that "WOW!" factor going for it.

[Lizard Racing]

Being a fan of the car since it was built, I would buy at least two kits.

[Phirewriter]

Cheetahs were notorious hot boxes due to the headers running over the footwells. Simple solution, slice the roof off as Ralph Salyer did for the Cro-Sal Special. Rather evil handling too, a number of  books on early 60's road racing shows them twisting up and pulling the front wheels up upon leaving corners. Not to mention quotes from those who drove them said they were a handful.

  BTW Carrera made a really nice 1/24 slot car if you really need a Cheetah fix.

[Richard Bartrop]

And I'd love to have a reasonably priced Cobra Coupe model too, but it has been brought up before that the problem has been the license fees, so until that changes, I'm not holding my breath.

[Matt Bacon]

3 hours ago, Richard Bartrop said:

And I'd love to have a reasonably priced Cobra Coupe model too, but it has been brought up before that the problem has been the license fees

As a matter of interest, does anyone know who owns the rights? Is it Shelby American, who own the brand? Or the inheritors of AC, who own the design of the car? Or Ford, which has less claim but probably more, and more expensive, lawyers (but does see the value in licensing models of its cars).

best,

M.

[Rob Hall]

Sounds like Bill Thomas' family owns the rights...have been some disputes with a company making race car replicas.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Thomas_Cheetah

[Matt Bacon]

1 hour ago, Rob Hall said:

Sounds like Bill Thomas' family owns the rights...have been some disputes with a company making race car replicas.

I was more thinking about the Cobra than the Cheetah: as you say, the rights to that one pretty clearly belong to Bill Thomas's heirs... The Cobra's a more complicated story.

best,

M.

 

[Bill J]

Not sure how this works in the automotive design world but in other fields rights expire after 50 years. Which is why you have old songs used in commercials and any record label can make records of 50+ year old artists music or publish books that were written over 50 years ago.

However, since Cobra, Ford and Shelby are all still current brands, they would own the rights to their NAMES. So if you were to label a kit Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe, powered by Ford, you would be needing several licenses. If you called it Sports Car Race Car of 1964-65 you would be legit, most likely. A kit called a cobra is going to sell better than a kit called sports car race car, so one would probably want the name on the kit.

Reality it that 1964-65 was a very long time ago and I would think that although there are people that remember the time period and the cars, it would not appeal as much to a younger builder that may want a kit of a Lamborghini as opposed to an antique race car that only raced a few seasons over 50 years ago. I would buy a bunch of them myself but I am thinking that from a marketing person's perspective, the Daytona Coupe and the Cheetah would both be light sellers. Who knows what goes through the marketing person's mind?

Fortunately for us modeler's there are excellent kits of both the Cobra Daytona Coupe and the Cheetah made by Historic Racing Miniatures and MFH also makes a Daytona Coupe. A little pricey but great kits and quite well detailed. I have one of he Daytona coupe kits, I would not buy a Cheetah. The Cheetah is a cool looking car and good old American hot rodding at it's finest but it has not much of a track record beyond many DNF's. If you want one for it's cuteness or odd shape, it is available, just not at Hobby Lobby. 

[Greg Myers]

Drag racing  with a big block MOPAR

[Dann Tier]

I LOVE Cheetahs as well!!!....they look VERY tough!!….in the not so distant future, I will be rebuilding this one that I traded with a fellow member....its actually a lot nicer than I thought it would be!!

[bobthehobbyguy]

On 3/27/2019 at 1:11 PM, Mark said:

The fanatics would go nuts over it...problem is, there aren't enough fanatics to cover the costs involved.

I agree I dont believe that there would be enough sold to make it happen. 1/64th diecast work because a much larger volume can be produced. Second the cost to do a 1/64th diecast is a lot less than doing a plastic kit. Third the cost of licensing can be spread out over a much larger volume.

[Ace-Garageguy]

Glad I bought an HRM Cheetah when I had the chance. It's a real little gem. Got a couple of old Cox bodies and some clear plastic repops around the same time too.

The problems with the real Cheetah could have been easily rectified had the project been better financed, and if the factory hadn't burned after only 10 or 11 cars were built. The handling issues were due primarily to an unfortunately flexible chassis, built of tubing that was too small ID to do the job for a serious race car. Though the chassis designer did in fact know his stuff, the original intent was for a limited-production sports-car, NOT a racer. The cars were also hampered by 4-wheel drum brakes. The Corvette-derived suspension was OK, but was designed for a much heavier boulevard cruiser, not a racer...and was used to control costs. The somewhat awkward driving position could have been mitigated by setting the engine to the side a tad, and fixing the cockpit heating problem would have hardly been rocket-science, even using the materials of the day.

Still, it's a spectacular looking car...to me...and will always be one of my favorites visually.

[Khils]

17 minutes ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Still, it's a spectacular looking car...to me...and will always be one of my favorites visually.

I ....Second that!!

[Belugawrx]

I think Randy might have one left

https://www.modelbuilderswh.com/collections/full-model-kits/products/cheetah-race-car

[peteski]

Put me in the "doesn't do anything for me" category.  Actually I think it is ugly. The proportions seem all wrong and exaggerated.

[randyc]

Love the Cheetah.  Would love a good plastic, no matter the box art.   Would also love a good affordable Daytona Coupe.   To go with my Grand Sports and Cobras.   Loved that era of racing where builders were making wild race cars to compete with the factory exotics.   We had a good GS and there were only 5 of the real cars.  Or 6 depending on if you buy into that story.  Of course that company also didn't make it so...

 

[Greg Myers]

1 hour ago, randyc said:

Of course that company also didn't make it so...

I think that was more in house politics than product sales. their aircraft kits really sold well. other than the miscue on the McClaren, should have gone right to the Cobra roadster.