一輛消失了30年的傳奇的美國車

一輛消失了30年的傳奇的美國車

If this car could talk, it would describe a road to fame with all the twists and turns of a Hollywood plot.

如果這輛車能說話，它將描述一條充滿好萊塢曲折情節(jié)的成名之路。

The original of only six ever built, it was the first American car to beat Ferrari on its own turf, was once engulfed by flames in Daytona, was driven around Los Angeles by a music celebrity, and then sat for 30 years in a storage unit -- leading many to believe it had been lost.

最初只生產(chǎn)了六輛，它是第一輛在自己的地盤上擊敗法拉利的美國車，曾經(jīng)在代托納被火焰吞噬，在洛杉磯被一位音樂名人駕駛，然后在一個儲藏室里停放了30年-讓很多人相信它已經(jīng)丟失了。

The extraordinary vehicle was the brainchild of an American car legend, who used it to win championships and shatter speed records. Once retrieved from its dusty alcove, the car sparked a multimillion dollar legal battle for its ownership.

這款非同尋常的汽車是一位美國汽車傳奇人物的創(chuàng)意，他用它贏得了冠軍并打破了速度記錄。一旦從布滿灰塵的房子中取回，這輛車就引發(fā)了一場數(shù)百萬美元的法律爭奪戰(zhàn)。

Today, 50 years after it was built, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe prototype finally sits in its rightful place -- a museum founded by its current owner.

在謝爾比眼鏡蛇代托納原型車建成50年后的今天，終于回到了它應有的位置——由它現(xiàn)在的主人創(chuàng)建的博物館。

A car with a mission

一輛有任務的車

As the name suggests, the car was created by American automotive entrepreneur, Carroll Shelby, who wanted to beat Italian designer Enzo Ferrari.

顧名思義，這款車是由美國汽車企業(yè)家卡羅爾·謝爾比設計的，他想打敗意大利設計師恩佐·法拉利。

He had already done so as a driver with Aston Martin, winning the prestigious FIA World Sportscar Championship in 1959.

作為阿斯頓馬丁的一名車手，他已經(jīng)做到了這一點，1959年贏得了享有盛譽的國際汽聯(lián)世界跑車錦標賽。

But in 1963, years after Shelby had hung up his racing gloves, he wanted to win as a constructor -- with an American car, at that.

但是在1963年，謝爾比掛出他的賽車手套數(shù)年之后，他想以一名建筑工人的身份贏得比賽——用一輛美國車，就這樣。

Shelby modeled his dream machine on the basis of a previous racer he had developed, the AC Cobra Roadster.

謝爾比在他之前開發(fā)的一款賽車-AC眼鏡蛇跑車-的基礎上設計了他夢想中的機器。

He hired designer Pete Brock to shape the car for maximum speed -- something it would need on the legendary 3-mile Mulsanne straight at Le Mans, the most important race in the championship.

他聘請了設計師皮特·布洛克(Pete Brock)來設計賽車的最高速度——這是在勒芒賽道上傳奇般的三英里長的穆爾桑直道上所需要的，而勒芒賽道是錦標賽中最重要的比賽。

Thus was born the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe prototype, made with modest means compared to today's standards, in a shop in Venice, California.

就這樣，謝爾比眼鏡蛇代托納原型誕生了，與今天的標準相比，它的制造手段不算太高，它是在加州威尼斯的一家商店里制造的。

The car that Shelby had built in Venice remained the only one made in America. Five more were sent as frames to Modena, Italy -- right under Ferrari's nose -- where the bodywork was completed expertly and quickly.

謝爾比在威尼斯制造的汽車仍然是唯一一輛美國制造的汽車。另外五架作為車架被送往意大利摩德納——就在法拉利的眼皮底下——在那里，車身制作得既專業(yè)又迅速。

The Daytona soon landed in the hands of eccentric music producer Phil Spector, 26 years old at the time. He scribbled the car's records with house paint on the doors -- ridiculously exaggerating them -- and started driving it around Los Angeles.

代托納很快落入了當時26歲的古怪音樂制作人菲爾·斯佩克特之手。他在車門上用油漆潦草地寫下了這輛車的記錄——夸張得可笑——然后開始在洛杉磯駕駛它。

This wasn't the first time the car was seen outside a track, as Shelby himself did several test runs with a manufacturer's plate.

這并不是這輛車第一次出現(xiàn)在賽道外，謝爾比本人也曾用一個制造商的車牌進行過幾次測試。

Over the years, interest mounted around the car and she received several offers for it, but always refused. "She would rebuff anybody who presented themselves as interested in the car," said Simeone.

多年來，人們對這輛車越來越感興趣，她收到了好幾份報價，但總是被拒絕。“她會拒絕任何自稱對這輛車感興趣的人，”西蒙尼說。