By Dean Larson

Photos: Seller, BringaTrailer.com

Define race car: (noun) A hot, loud and unruly vehicle designed specifically for timed accelerations, road courses events and specialty driving exercises. Not intended for use on public streets.

Okay, so maybe you can see past my poorly crafted attempt at Merriam-Webster styling (and the actual MW definition is about 1/3 that length), but the point is that a race car is exactly that, a vehicle designed for racing, not street use. Shelby’s original Daytona Coupe was wholly a race car — a competition derived chassis and driveline wrapped in aluminum skin. It did a fantastic job racing, but not so much at street driving, as Phil Spector, one-time owner of CSX2287, quickly found out. The car was hot and extremely loud, leading Spector to modify the interior and exhaust, and eventually sell the car to alleviate trouble with the law.

Your average kit car brings the race car experience to the homebuilder, with purpose-built chassis, hot drivelines and a lack of many comfort and convenience items. There’s an ass for every seat, and many of us long for all the hot, noisy and uncomfortable experiences of an authentic replica. I probably fall into this category, but I couldn’t help seeing the truth in this quote from a fellow BaT user:

I always thought owning one of these would be like deciding how often and how long you want to be uncomfortable and hot on the weekends. By contrast, this looks absolutely drivable. — BaT user Lorenzoo

This comment, which strikes a very specific chord within the replica industry, comes courtesy of an auction on BringaTrailer.com for a 2013 Shelby CSX 9000 Daytona Coupe. Longer, lower, heavier and more road oriented than the original, the revised 9000 series Coupe is a dramatic departure from your average Daytona replica.

For those who would cry foul, it was none other than Peter Brock who penned the design for the revised Superformance Coupe. Brock corrected roofline and added more arch over the driver’s head, a feature on the original Coupe design that was mistakenly undone by the coachbuilders. He also fixed the drag-inducing rear three-quarter windows and massaged the front fenders as well. The Coupe also has three inches added to the wheelbase, balancing out the design in Brock’s eyes, and uses 427-style suspension.

In addition to these changes, which Brock devised for the Superformance line, the Shelby CSX 9000 series cars have a few specific additions. Announced in 2009, CSX 9000 cars are technically Shelby continuation cars, and come with the CSX VIN prefix, instead of SPF, and come with a Shelby Manufacturer Certificate of Origin. The cars also come with Shelby embroidered seats and Shelby-specific door handles. Carroll Shelby Engine Company supplied the engines for most 9000-series cars, and this one sports a 427 ci small block with Weber IDA carburetors. A TREMEC TKO 600 transmission sends power to the limited-slip rear differential.

This car, CSX 9128, presents very well, with Guardsman Blue paint uninterrupted by stripes or numerals. 18-inch Halibrand-style wheels with knock offs have modern, speed-rated rubber mounted, and make room for larger brakes as well.

The car has just 1,215 miles on the odometer, much lower than we’d expect to see on a Coupe like this. With a well-trimmed interior, air-conditioning and great build quality, these Coupes are usually come up for sale with 10 times this mileage, and still get top dollar as well.

With two days remaining in the auction, the current bid sits at $70,000. Expect this one to bring roughly $110,000 to $120,000.

See the auction here at BringaTrailer.com.