, based in Irvine, Calif., and the distributor of licensed replicas of the Shelby Cobra, Daytona Coupe, and Ford GT40. In order to procure the models, the producers ofleased a stable of 29 exacting replicas of the original—and in some cases no longer extant—cars that made racing history. Of these, most were in static scenes, but seven were filmed in racing sequences: two Ford GT40s and five Shelby Cobra MKIIs.
At the LA Times Grand Prix, in October of 1963, in front of a U.S. record of 82,000 fans at Riverside, MacDonald ran Shelby King Cobra CM/1/63 past a star-studded international field to win the richest sports car race in the world at the time. His payday was seven times greater than what Formula 1 driver Graham Hill received for winning the Monaco Grand Prix the same year.
It is perhaps no coincidence that the late racer’s son, Rich MacDonald, handles sales at Shelby Legendary Cars. He managed the acquisition by Fox/Disney of the examples used in the film, and was present on the sets throughout the four-month film schedule. One of those venues was Willow Springs International Raceway in Rosamond, Calif.