Race cars with Hollywood bloodlines? They’re rare birds.
This one though, this one has history. Roush Industries is clearing out part of their US collection. Over a dozen machines hitting the blocks. But sitting right at the top? A 1995 Ford Mustang cobra race car. The late Paul Newman drove this beast in IMSA’s GTS class.
You can buy it. Put it in a museum case. Or if your bank account looks like a phone number, maybe take it out for a proper track day.
Nobody’s Fool, Definitely A Winner
So how does an actor end up wrenching on a Ford?
Timing. And leftover marketing dollars.
This car was built for the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona. Just one month prior Newman’s film Nobody’s Fool had opened in theaters. Paramount Studios had cash burning a hole in the pocket. So they sponsored the ride. Slapped some movie graphics on the body. Classic promo move.
Newman didn’t just drive for the brand though. He raced for real. He’d done the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1974 finishing second in a Porsche 935 when he wasn’t on a movie set. For Daytona 1995 he teamed up with Tommy Kendall. Mark Martin. Michael Brockman.
The car? Won. They took victory in the GTS class. Newman was seventy years old when they crossed that finish line.
“Seventy years old, driving a 750-horsepower Mustang around Daytona.”
Can you imagine the focus? Or the fear?
Covered In Ancient Dirt
The race ended thirty-one years ago. The car went to rest at the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Daytona Beach.
But it didn’t rest cleanly.
For decades it sat behind glass with spare, clean body panels attached. Boring? Sure. Safe? Also yes. But here’s the twist. They kept the originals.
The actual panels that survived the twenty-four-hour marathon? They saved them. Complete with the grime. The scuffs. The scratches. Dirt embedded in the fiberglass from 1995.
Roush put the old, dirty shells back on. Now the car looks like it just got dragged back from the pit lane. Authenticity over aesthetics. Which works, oddly enough.
The Engine Under the Hood
Let’s talk power.
It’s got a 6.0 liter Roush-built V8. Naturally aspirated. No turbos to fuss over. Mated to a five-speed manual shifter driving the rear wheels. Back then this mill produced about 750 horsepower.
Still a lot for 2025.
Imagine gripping that steering wheel. No traction control. No ABS. Just raw mechanical violence sent through three decades-old tires. You drive this for five minutes your hands might cramp. Doing it for twenty-four hours? That takes a specific kind of insane courage.
Most collectors want the car to look like new. Pristine.
This one begs to be kept rough. You think anyone would ever wash it again?
Probably not. And that might be the most beautiful part of it. The dust tells the story better than any plaque ever could. It waits now for someone willing to buy the mess. Not just the metal.
