You don't have to be a screen legend to get behind the wheel of one's race car. This fall, a Ford Mustang Cobra that Paul Newman raced — and won with — at the 1995 Rolex 24 At Daytona is rolling across the auction block, giving collectors a rare shot at owning a genuine piece of Hollywood and motorsport history.
Newman is rightly remembered for his work on stage and screen, but racing was far more than a hobby for the Oscar winner. He caught the bug while preparing for the 1969 film Winning and never let it go, competing in Sports Car Club of America events through the 1970s, finishing second at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1978, and even claiming pole position at his final professional start in 2007, just a year before he passed away.
The Daytona story is one of his most charming chapters. Roughly a month before the race, Newman's film Nobody's Fool had hit theaters, and distributor Paramount funneled leftover marketing money into sponsoring an endurance entry. The result was a Roush Racing Mustang Cobra shared by Newman, Tommy Kendall, Mark Martin, and Michael Brockman. Rather than serving as a rolling advertisement, the car delivered, taking the GTS-1 class win and finishing third overall.
Remarkably, the Mustang looks much as it did on that Florida weekend more than three decades ago. It still wears its white livery, the "Nobody's Fool" branding, and the number 70 — a nod to Newman's 70th birthday, which he had just celebrated. Even the grime is the real deal: while the car received fresh body panels for display after the race, it has since been reunited with its original, dirt-caked components.
Underneath sits a naturally aspirated 6.0-liter Roush-built V8 paired with a five-speed manual gearbox. When new, the engine was reported to make somewhere around 750 horsepower — well over 500 more than the street-going Mustang Cobra offered that same year. If you appreciate the breed, our overview of the Ford Mustang traces the model's long evolution, and this rare 1993 Mustang Cobra shows just how special the SVT-era cars have become.
Mecum hasn't released a pre-sale estimate, but given the car's competition success and Newman's enduring star power, it should command serious money when it crosses the block. The Mustang is slated to sell on Saturday, September 26, during Mecum's Nashville 2026 auction. Collectors tracking the wider market may also want to read our look at the collector cars buyers are quietly moving away from.
