In the annals of American racing history, the Shelby Cobra stands as an enduring symbol of speed and performance. Yet, overshadowed by its fame is another contender that Chevrolet quietly developed to challenge the Cobra: the Bill Thomas Cheetah.
While lesser-known and less triumphant than the Cobra, the Cheetah remains a fascinating piece of automotive lore, and now, a rare opportunity arises to acquire an early Cheetah prototype once owned by GM president John F. Gordon.
Bill Thomas, renowned among Chevrolet enthusiasts, made his mark by enhancing the Corvette’s racing pedigree in its formative years. As the Cobra began to outpace the Corvette on the track, Thomas set out on a mission to create his own sports car capable of dethroning the Texas-bred icon. Teaming up with Don Edmunds, Thomas birthed the Cheetah, a car built around a chrome-moly tube-frame chassis with a 90-inch wheelbase.
The Cheetah was a formidable competitor, boasting independent suspension on all four corners and four-wheel drum brakes from Chevy’s NASCAR inventory. Nestled at its rear sat a potent 327-cubic-inch V-8 engine borrowed from the 1963 Corvette, equipped with Rochester mechanical fuel injection and delivering an impressive 360 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque. Weighing in at a mere 1750 pounds, the Cheetah was a lightweight powerhouse.
It’s aided by a Borg-Warner T-10 four-speed manual transmission and three fuel tanks with individual filler caps for extended endurance. This particular Cheetah, bearing serial number 126364002, represents the second prototype crafted by Thomas. Unlike subsequent production models with fiberglass bodies, this prototype boasts an aluminum skin, a testament to its unique heritage.
Originally commissioned by General Motors as a test vehicle for Chevrolet Engineering, it served under GM President John F. Gordon’s ownership from December 1963 to April 1964, undergoing rigorous evaluation before briefly dipping its tires into the motorsport industry. With a production target of 100 Cheetahs mandated for homologation in 1963, a subsequent rule change in 1964 raised the bar to 1000 units, a threshold GM deemed unfeasible.
Consequently, only 16 Cheetahs were ever assembled, rendering them exceedingly rare specimens today. Coupled with the storied provenance of this prototype, its current listing price of $2 million reflects its status as a prized collector’s gem, the epitome of the Cheetah breed.
