Yes, exactly! We’ve been doing this for over 30 years. We specialise mostly in GT40s, AC Cobras and the Daytona Coupe. In fact, we were granted special permission from the man himself, Carroll Shelby, to continue production of the legendary Daytona Coupe.
What was your attraction to these cars? It seems unusual for a French company to be so interested in American race cars.
For me it was two things that attracted me to Shelby and his cars. First, it was the persona of Shelby himself, a self-taught man with big ideas. He was a legendary race driver and Le Mans winner. He was also a very regular Texan man; a chicken farmer turned auto manufacturer. In the past he lost his whole investment as all his animals were killed by disease. He knew what losing meant. Afterwards he chose to chase his dream to become a professional racer and won several international races. Because of heart problems, his career came to an unexpected end. But he bounced and became a car manufacturer. Strengthened by his race experience he knew he had to build a car capable of winning races. The real key to Carroll’s success is his talent for spotting racers who had the potential to win races driving his Cobras. But second, in the case of the Daytona Coupe, he built a car in his workshop that could beat Ferrari with only a fraction of the budget. The Ford GT40 was a different story. I also love this era of racing. It was the last time small constructers could build a race car in their shop, race at Le Mans and win. A few years later everything was run by big-budget manufacturers.
![ATS seems to specialise in American race cars especially those from the hands of Carroll Shelby, is that correct?](https://d23zpyj32c5wn3.cloudfront.net/images/masonry_bricks/pictures/59271/big/WhatsApp_Image_2020-05-14_at_13.45.40_%282%29.jpg?1591284619)