C-R Cheetah Race Cars cars for sale
About these listings
Every C-R Cheetah Race Cars listed on MotorLoop.
United States
Overview
The Cheetah was an American sports racing car built by Bill Thomas between 1963 and 1966, conceived with quiet help from General Motors as an answer to the Shelby Cobra. Somewhere around 23 were built, with at least 19 chassis made — numbers small enough that every genuine car is individually known.
Because so few originals exist and the shape has been reproduced since, the first question about any Cheetah is which it is. A continuation or a tribute car is a perfectly good thing to own; it is not the same asset as a period car, and the difference is large.
History
Bill Thomas had been modifying Chevrolet Corvettes for racing since 1956 and started Bill Thomas Race Cars in 1960, earning the nickname Mister Corvette along the way. In 1963 he and Vince Piggins, who ran General Motors’ performance product group, worked out a way to build a car that could take on the roadsters coming out of Carroll Shelby’s shop — Piggins supplying parts and guidance, Thomas doing the design and the building.
The chassis was sketched in chalk on a concrete garage floor by the lead fabricator, Don Edmunds, around the engine, transmission and other major components. Most of the mechanical parts came straight from Chevrolet: the best-known engine is the 327 small-block from the C2 Corvette, while the full racing version used a 377 producing over 550 horsepower. In race trim the car was capable of more than 210 mph.