I'm pushing the 50-year boundary by a hair, but how could you not include the Daytona on this list? These six cars (!) had quite the 64-65 season, and if Shelby wasn't poached for the GT40 program it would've been REALLY interesting to see how they continued to develop:
-1964 12 Hours of Sebring (GT class win, Dave MacDonald/Bob Holbert)
-1964 24 Hours of Le Mans (GT class win, fourth overall, Dan Gurney/Bob Bondurant)
-1964 RAC Tourist Trophy (GT class win)
-1964 Tour de France Automobile (GT class win)
-1965 24 Hours of Daytona (GT class win)
-1965 12 Hours of Sebring (GT class win)
-1965 Italian Grand Prix at Monza (GT class win)
-1965 Nürburgring 1000 km (GT class win)
-1965 12 Hours of Reims (GT class win, clinched 1965 World Sportscar Championship)
-1965 Enna-Pergusa (GT class win)
-1965 25 land speed records at Bonneville
Oh, and did I mention it was designed by one guy (Pete Brock) essentially working out of a Venice beach garage? No real testing or development- he just nailed it on the first pass and they created five more copies. It's honest, elegant, capable and brutal.. just as a proper race car should be.
