Cheetah
Written by Keith Fudge

In the mid to early 1960s, the folks at GM Racing Division designed a Cobra killer in order to compete with Ford’s success at the track. Through the vision of Bill Thomas and Don Edmonds, emerged the 1964 Cheetah and this was one scary cat!

Ultimately, Thomas’s plans did not last, and after the production of approximately twenty-seven cars, his shop burned and so did GM’s continuation of the project. With that said, now these “cats” are truly an endangered species. However, this week on Hemming’s My Classic Car, Dennis had the pleasure of meeting Skip Gunnell, the owner of a pristine 1964 Cheetah.

Dennis caught up with Skip in Florida at the Sebring International Raceway, just the sort of “jungle” where one would expect to find an untamed “big and bad kitty.” Dennis and Skip talked about the history of the car itself and the speculation that this GM was actually a realistic threat to dethroning the Cobra on the racetrack. Skip told us that in 1964, that the Cheetah had been clocked at 220 mph at Daytona, and that the car was going so fast, and that so much air and lift were underneath the car, that it literally “blew its own doors off!” One of the reasons for such phenomenal speed consisted of the fact that this car was approximately 500 pounds lighter than the Cobra, weighing in at around 1,650 pounds with liquids. Much of the significant weight difference was attributed to the short wheelbase of only 90 inches for the Cheetah. In fact, there is no room for a drive shaft at all and the transmission is connected straight to the differential! But power wasn’t everything that made the Cheetah an outstanding racer. With a weight distribution of 52% on the back wheels, which was exceptional for a front-engine car at that time, this kitty was sure on its feet as well, and handled as precisely as could be expected!

Another amazing fact about the incredible speed and power of the Cheetah is that it is powered by a Chevy small-block. The 327 c.i., bored .030 over, produced 332 c.i. and an astonishing 420 horsepower! There was also a full racing version that was stroked to 377 c.i., and that produced a massive 520 horses! Talk about power! But then, enough of the talk…we were about to walk the walk. Sure enough, Dennis didn’t have to twist Skip’s arm to take this legend out where it belongs: on the track!

Our film crew was amazed at the lightning response and acceleration as we filmed the Cheetah on the track, and as it raced by us on the final shot, we could see just how awesome this bad cat could be. Even Dennis seemed a bit speechless when his ride came to an end and we were all a bit overwhelmed! The Cheetah is certainly a special car, built during a special era. Thanks Skip for letting us in on this truly rare piece of automotive and racing history!