In the fall of 1963, Mercury ran a 100,000-mile Endurance Run over 40 days and nights at the Daytona Speedway using five Comet Calientes. With average speeds of around 105 mph, these production vehicles primarily had safety modifications. Powered by solid-lifter 289 V8s, only one car had a failure: a broken valve spring at 25,000 miles.
Round 2 has brought back AMT’s original 1964 Caliente Craftsman kit with new decals to replicate a Daytona car, an Endurance Tour vehicle, or a factory stock offering. The Craftsman series were primarily unassembled promos with no engines. As such, this kit only has 31 parts.