Designed and built by Bill Thomas of California in 1963, the Cheetah was originally conceived as a Chevrolet answer to the Shelby Ford Cobra. The factory support for the car was somewhat secret as GM was not officially "involved" in racing at the time. The car was laid out with a front-engine / rear drive configuration with the engine set well back in a mid-chassis position. The coupe body with its gull wing doors stands today as one of the most aggressive automobile designs ever conceived. The Cheetah was blindingly fast, but ended up competing in prototype classes against rear-engine competition rather than against the Cobra. One must wonder about the unrealized success this all-American effort might have achieved with full factory support.