Ford Helps Detroit High School Students Build a Shelby Daytona Coupe

After months of working with high school students in Detroit to build a car, last Friday, the Ford Motor Company has unveiled the finished vehicle: a built-from-scratch replica of the 1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe.

Ford worked with more than 50 high school students interested in technical entrepreneurship to build and test the car over a period of 18 weeks. This project— which isn't the first time Ford has helped high schoolers in the name of education—was created to help Detroit students learn important skills about the automotive industry. 

Ford joined forces with Detroit Public Schools Community District and Experience Aviation to build a working Daytona Coupe from over 1,000 parts. The focus of the assignment was to teach students about the process of building a car, and how the art of engineering, design, mathematics, and science combined to create an automobile. 

These are no ordinary high school students though, hailing from the prestigious Breithaupt Career and Technical Center. Ford says it hopes this activity will help students find careers in automotive technology and pave the way for more innovative minds in the industry.

The car itself isn't supposed to be original; it's built more as a genuine "replica" of the famous race car. Parts were sourced and paid for by the Ford Fund, and the body was built by Factory Five Racing. The car is powered by a Ford 306-c.i. V8 making 350 horsepower, and features a new transmission and suspension system. 

Here's hoping Ford continues to outdo itself in order to help students. Maybe next year the company will let undergrads design the next Focus RS, or something like that.