一辆消失了30年的传奇的美国车

一辆消失了30年的传奇的美国车

If this car could talk, it would describe a road to fame with all the twists and turns of a Hollywood plot.

如果这辆车能说话，它将描述一条充满好莱坞曲折情节的成名之路。

The original of only six ever built, it was the first American car to beat Ferrari on its own turf, was once engulfed by flames in Daytona, was driven around Los Angeles by a music celebrity, and then sat for 30 years in a storage unit -- leading many to believe it had been lost.

最初只生产了六辆，它是第一辆在自己的地盘上击败法拉利的美国车，曾经在代托纳被火焰吞噬，在洛杉矶被一位音乐名人驾驶，然后在一个储藏室里停放了30年-让很多人相信它已经丢失了。

The extraordinary vehicle was the brainchild of an American car legend, who used it to win championships and shatter speed records. Once retrieved from its dusty alcove, the car sparked a multimillion dollar legal battle for its ownership.

这款非同寻常的汽车是一位美国汽车传奇人物的创意，他用它赢得了冠军并打破了速度记录。一旦从布满灰尘的房子中取回，这辆车就引发了一场数百万美元的法律争夺战。

Today, 50 years after it was built, the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe prototype finally sits in its rightful place -- a museum founded by its current owner.

在谢尔比眼镜蛇代托纳原型车建成50年后的今天，终于回到了它应有的位置——由它现在的主人创建的博物馆。

A car with a mission

一辆有任务的车

As the name suggests, the car was created by American automotive entrepreneur, Carroll Shelby, who wanted to beat Italian designer Enzo Ferrari.

顾名思义，这款车是由美国汽车企业家卡罗尔·谢尔比设计的，他想打败意大利设计师恩佐·法拉利。

He had already done so as a driver with Aston Martin, winning the prestigious FIA World Sportscar Championship in 1959.

作为阿斯顿马丁的一名车手，他已经做到了这一点，1959年赢得了享有盛誉的国际汽联世界跑车锦标赛。

But in 1963, years after Shelby had hung up his racing gloves, he wanted to win as a constructor -- with an American car, at that.

但是在1963年，谢尔比挂出他的赛车手套数年之后，他想以一名建筑工人的身份赢得比赛——用一辆美国车，就这样。

Shelby modeled his dream machine on the basis of a previous racer he had developed, the AC Cobra Roadster.

谢尔比在他之前开发的一款赛车-AC眼镜蛇跑车-的基础上设计了他梦想中的机器。

He hired designer Pete Brock to shape the car for maximum speed -- something it would need on the legendary 3-mile Mulsanne straight at Le Mans, the most important race in the championship.

他聘请了设计师皮特·布洛克(Pete Brock)来设计赛车的最高速度——这是在勒芒赛道上传奇般的三英里长的穆尔桑直道上所需要的，而勒芒赛道是锦标赛中最重要的比赛。

Thus was born the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe prototype, made with modest means compared to today's standards, in a shop in Venice, California.

就这样，谢尔比眼镜蛇代托纳原型诞生了，与今天的标准相比，它的制造手段不算太高，它是在加州威尼斯的一家商店里制造的。

The car that Shelby had built in Venice remained the only one made in America. Five more were sent as frames to Modena, Italy -- right under Ferrari's nose -- where the bodywork was completed expertly and quickly.

谢尔比在威尼斯制造的汽车仍然是唯一一辆美国制造的汽车。另外五架作为车架被送往意大利摩德纳——就在法拉利的眼皮底下——在那里，车身制作得既专业又迅速。

The Daytona soon landed in the hands of eccentric music producer Phil Spector, 26 years old at the time. He scribbled the car's records with house paint on the doors -- ridiculously exaggerating them -- and started driving it around Los Angeles.

代托纳很快落入了当时26岁的古怪音乐制作人菲尔·斯佩克特之手。他在车门上用油漆潦草地写下了这辆车的记录——夸张得可笑——然后开始在洛杉矶驾驶它。

This wasn't the first time the car was seen outside a track, as Shelby himself did several test runs with a manufacturer's plate.

这并不是这辆车第一次出现在赛道外，谢尔比本人也曾用一个制造商的车牌进行过几次测试。

Over the years, interest mounted around the car and she received several offers for it, but always refused. "She would rebuff anybody who presented themselves as interested in the car," said Simeone.

多年来，人们对这辆车越来越感兴趣，她收到了好几份报价，但总是被拒绝。“她会拒绝任何自称对这辆车感兴趣的人，”西蒙尼说。