Saw something I want to share
 

So shlepping around Asheville on Friday night Martel and I saw one of these:

http://www.gforcesportscars.com.au/images/blucobra.jpg

But we saw the American version and not the European version- so the steering wheel was on the other side. It had a big "COBRA" on the front above the grille (which was missing). So, what was it? How impressed should I be? :)

Shelby Cobra... could be a kit, maybe not. Nice car though.

99% chance it was a kit based on my experience. The original cars are so valuable now that it's pretty rare to see them on the street.

You could/should still be pretty impressed depending on the quality of the kit and what's underneath. Most of the kits use 80's Mustang engine, suspension and brakes on a tube frame but a few have seriously built up motors including the old big blocks. Either way it's a lot of HP pulling not that much weight. Fun cars - if they had a useable convertible soft/hard top system for them, I'd consider having one.

Real ones are very rare, and worth at least several hundred thousand dollars (I think). You probably wouldn't see one driving around. These cars are legends, which has made them very popular kit cars.

They could easily outrun anything else built at the time (at least until very high speeds where their poor aerodynamics became an issue). In a straight line, even the base models are still faster than many sports cars today.

I believe there's a coupe version, with a hardop that comes off. I'm not sure, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

anyway, that's a nice car to see, kit or not!

Only British (and Japanese) cars have the steering wheel on the right side. All of the rest of Europe has it on the 'wrong' side, same as America.

The car in the picture is probably a British built AC Cobra, which is the same body as a Shelby Cobra with a different engine and suspension.

http://www.motorbase.com/vehicle/by-id/51/index.ehtml


*I spent far too much time reading the blurb on Gran Turismo. :D

The AC Cobra are best.

I've seen the ACs and Shelby's race, and the ACs wiped the floor.

:D

There is a small shop in Gadsden Alabama that produces Cobra kits. I was amazed at how small the facility is - friend of mine has a shop next door and helps them with tooling and such at times.

I went to a little local car meet today and an original (1 of 260-some made) Cobra was in attendance.

http://sarasotadetail.com/gallery2/m.../P6183640c.jpg

http://sarasotadetail.com/gallery2/m.../P6183641c.jpg

It actually looked pretty tame, mostly because it uses correct for the year it was made tire sizes. It did have a nice rumble as it went by however and I was shocked to see the documentation the guy brought with him on this car. That is a serious amount of money sitting there folks.

Oh, and some lamer showed up with an NSX.

http://sarasotadetail.com/gallery2/m.../P6183638c.jpg

;)

Shelby Cobra 427...I work with a guy that has one. Damn nice looking car!