“To make the overall list that we’re building, it only has to hit on one of those criteria, but this Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe hit on all four,” he said.

Mr. O’Connor said that per Historic American Engineering Record guidelines, which are comparable to the Historic American Buildings Survey rules laid out when that program was established, in 1933, documentation submitted to the federal government must be limited to medium- or large-format black-and-white photographs, measured drawings and text documentation. That material will be maintained in perpetuity by the Library of Congress in the same manner that documentation recording the details of historic buildings and significant examples of engineering works, such as the Statue of Liberty and the Space Shuttle Columbia, are preserved.

Image Testing in Riverside, Calif. Credit... Carroll Hall Shelby Trust

Digital photographs and files, as well as audiovisual media, are not permitted in the federal collection, but Mr. Gessler said that the association would maintain its own national historic vehicle register that would create a place for such material, including videos and oral history interviews. Mr. O’Connor said the federal government’s restrictions on digital media might seem obtuse, but he pointed out that finding a consistent, noncorruptible format that meets the agency’s longevity requirements had been a challenge.

“Integrity is an issue for digital files; photo negatives are much more difficult to manipulate,” he said. “Some people call it antiquated, but it has proved to be really durable technology.”

Mr. Gessler said the association is working on a list of about 50 vehicles, which he said were important to American history, to document. Among the first vehicles to follow the Shelby into federally-documented history are the 1907 Thomas Flyer that won the New York to Paris race in 1908; the first Meyers Manx, which Mr. Gessler said went on to spawn production of about 250,000 dune buggies; the first Ford Pygmy, thought to be the oldest Jeep in the world; and a 1918 Cadillac Model 57, which he said was one of two remaining of the about 2,000 sent to Europe during World War I.

■ View the Historic American Engineering Record summary submission for the 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe here.

■ View a statement by the Historic Vehicle Association explaining why the 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe was selected as the first vehicle submitted for inclusion on the Historic American Engineering Record here.