I was never that much into the venerated AC Cobra myself, because like meeting your heroes, it’s one of those things best worshipped from afar. In other words, the reality of driving a Cobra is, well, a little terrible. It’s unbelievably loud, the ride is harsh beyond description, and the creature comforts of the cockpit… well, there aren’t any.
Not my cup of tea, in other words. If I wanted all the above (minus the overpowering roar from the overpowered engine), I’d just get a Lotus 7 / Caterham.
Well, until now. There’s this bunch of guys who make AC Cobra replicas, and they seem to check off quite a few boxes. Witness this beauty:
It has heated seats, FFS. [sound of Carroll Shelby’s corpse hitting 12,000rpm]
But for those who think this vision has somehow become pussified, fear not:
That’s a Roush 427R V8, producing 550 horsepower — and even better, it has a TKX 5-speed manual transmission.
(Be still, my over-stimulated heart… okay, groin.)
I’ve never been tempted to drive an AC Cobra on one of my demented long-distance road trips (e.g. here, here and here) because unless there were massages delivered to my aching back every hundred or so miles by beautiful maidens of the Orient, it would just be too damn painful. But in one of these? I might be tempted.
“But what about luggage, Kim?”
Oh yeah, that little detail:
I know that the prices of cars nowadays are too stratospheric, and the cars themselves are too gadget-ridden and wind-tunnel anonymized in terms of styling and they’re, well, just pussified.
But for just over $100k, I’m not sure you’d find something as red-blooded and… satisfying as this lovely thing.
If I’m going to risk being labeled a total pussy, though, I’d ask the guys at Backdraft Racing to fashion me a soft top against the rain because frankly, at my age I wouldn’t want to risk pneumonia. Other than that: vroom-vroom.
WoW. Never heard of that Lotus 7 before. Looks like a cross between a Jeep and an Indy car. Gonna hafta look that up.
That Cobra replica (or the regular version)?
HAIL YEAH!
And yes, a detachable hard top would be cool. (store it in the trunk?)
Caterhams (assembled by Caterham or their authorized dealers) usually cost around $75k (for the bigger ones).
If you’re not of the runty size, make sure to order the wide-body version.
The supercharged 620 has a 0-60 time of… 2.79 seconds.
Don’t know those guys. There are any number of people who are producing Cobra Replicas of highly variable quality. Cobras are basically race cars that you can drive on the street (sort of). But like any British roadster of the period they are not even remotely practical cars. As you note they are hot, loud, impossible to drive in the rain, and after you assemble the origami structure that pretends to be a convertible top which does not store in the laughably small trunk, you can’t see what’s behind or beside you.
I owned and drove my share of ridiculous British Roadsters back in the day when I was in the target demographic (18 to 25 single males with delusions). And they are fun, and females of the same demo seemed to put up with them.
But there is no need to spend $100K on on one. Just go to bring a trailer and bid on one like this one. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/factory-five-racing-mk4-roadster-50/ It didn’t sell when the bidding expired at $38K. Factory 5 sells the most complete and best known versions, but they only sell the kit — all the completed ones are assembled and sorted by individuals so build quality varies from incomplete to lethal. That’s why most have very low mileage on them like this one. The fun and enjoyment is in the building of your own car of your dreams, not so much the driving.
Saw these cars on Top Gear, back before it sucked.
Sadly I’m probably too old to even fit in one anymore.
“Wind-tunnel anonymized” has just entered my lexicon. Thanks!
I have irrationally coveted a Lotus 7 ever since I first saw The Prisoner. If I won the lottery, the first thing I did when I settled into my new Big Ass Compound would be to commission my hobby garage and build one “with my own hands” just like Number 6.