The original AC Cobras were a bit of a flop at the races. It was not until Ford and Shelby redesigned the body, the suspension, well,...everything, that the Daytona Coupe was born. By the way, the Daytona coupes were driven by Americans, not Europeans. Dan Gurney and Bob Bondurant were the first team. Bob won the Lemans in his first outing with the Daytona, and they continued to rack up enough points (they won 7 out of ten races) to win the World Manufacturer Racing cup in 1965.
The Daytona coupes would have been more sucessful had Ford not pulled the plug, favoring the Lola designed GT-40.