The Cheetah was meant to be a Cobra-killer. It was Corvette powered, with a custom-designed chassis and suspension. There has never been another car like it. Unfortunately, the Cheetah never made production. A fire in the shop stopped production somewhere around the 16th car, only 11 cars were fully completed.
Commissioned by Chevrolet to develop as a response to Ford’s Cobra, Bill Thomas (a Southern California native, who initially gained recognition for modifying Corvettes for road racing before establishing Bill Thomas Race Cars in 1960) collaborated with Don Edmunds to create the Cheetah, powered by a Corvette engine.
The Cheetah’s destiny, however, faced financial constraints, leading to only 11 completed cars before Chevrolet withdrew its unofficial support. The chassis, engineered by Don Edmunds, lacked torsional rigidity for track use, prompting owners to reinforce it with additional elements. Despite these challenges, the Cheetah’s 327 small-block V-8, positioned for optimal weight balance, boasted remarkable speed and power.
Watch the mighty Cheetah in action as it goes up the hillclimb course at Goodwood and enjoy the beautiful symphony of its mighty V8 engine.
