Everyone knows that Hawk Cars produce superb replicas of various Cobras and also a Lancia Stratos. The company’s MD, Gerry Hawkridge is well known for his high standards, eye for detail and encyclopaedic knowledge of classic sixties cars, particularly those of a Cobra and/or exotic slant.

He’s recently launched what can perhaps be regarded as his crowning glory, a Hawk Coupe replica that is period correct and accurate in every way. Just six of the Shelby Daytona Coupes were built for racing between 1964-65. The late Carroll Shelby giving his designer, Peter Brock the brief to design a GT car that could take it to the Ferrari 250 GTO on the race track.

A genuine car, if you could find one for sale, would be incredibly expensive, eye-wateringly so, in fact, and although in replica form it’s never been as popular a subject to recreate as say, a 289 or 427, there’s still immense desirability there.

Originally, Gerry was going to produce GRP-bodied examples of the Coupe but his factory in Poland where Hawk’s aluminium bodies are produced (as well as other bodies under contract for others!) reckoned they could do a nice job on the Daytona clone. So it proved.

Moving from a glassfibre to a hand-beaten aluminium body obviously moved the car up a few runs in the cost stakes, but Gerry was comfortable with that as he regarded his new project as the ultimate Hawk and has always adhered to the view that if something is worth doing; do it to the best of your ability.

The chassis a modified 289 chassis with transverse leaf springs, lower wishbones, Hawk fabricated uprights and hub carriers and period correct peg-drive wheels, again from Hawk’s own tooling.

Power for Gerry’s demonstrator comes from a peter Knight-built 289 V8 (again sixties correct), which delivers around 400bhp. You could also use the later 302 V8 or even 351 Windsor.

The Hawk Coupe is really intended to mirror the original racers so Gerry has no immediate plans to IVA one for road use, although he doesn’t see why this couldn’t be possible with sensible amendments and nods to the 21stcentury’s road regs.

A chassis/body kit starts at £50,000 and once you’ve done it justice you could have racked up a bill for about £120,000 and what an amazing recreation you would have and a bargain at the price if you think about. Oh, and it’s so accurate that original ‘works’ Shelby driver, Allen Grant has given it his approval by signing the dashboard!

For more information contact www.hawkcars.co.uk or 01892 750 341 ENDS.