Oh mama !


There are all sorts of Cobra replicas these days — just ask Carroll Shelby — and the Superformance version is arguably one of the best. With Shelby litigation affecting this area of the replicar trade, Superformance avoids the "C" word, but that doesn't hamper the car's ability to get from A to B in a serious hurry. Its best 0-to-60 time of 3.5 seconds. :o Zero to 100 mph at 7.8 seconds, :o whereupon the roadster's chunky aerodynamics begin to assert themselves.

Manufactured in South Africa, the Superformance roadster rides on a tubular steel chassis, and the familiar bodywork is executed — very nicely — in fiberglass. Thrust is supplied by a Ford Racing 351 Windsor pushrod V-8 stroked to 402 cubic inches and fed by a single Holley HP750 four-barrel carb via a Victor Junior manifold. Other engine mods include an Eagle forged stroker crank and rods, JE pistons, ported and polished cylinder heads, and a Canton oil pan.

The net of these upgrades is 540 horsepower and 508 pound-feet of torque, which find their way to the rear axle via a Tremec five-speed manual.

Olthoff-modified Bilstein coil-over shocks, adjustable for ride height, lend versatility to the suspension, as well as acceptable ride quality, and Michelin Pilot Sport tires — 275/40ZR-17 98Y front, 335/35ZR-17 106Y rear — on PS Engineering cast aluminum wheels (9.0-by-17 front, 11.0-by-17 rear) provide grip. The Wilwood vented disc brakes are equally serious: 12.0 by 1.3 inches up front, 11.0 by 0.8 inch rear — all squeezed by four-piston calipers.

Aside from its fiberglass body and latter-day powertrain, this is a faithful replica of the old 427 Cobra. That's a plus, but there's a caveat: The original was one of the world's more memorable sports cars, but it was also a brute; casual cruisers should think twice.

Superformance sells its roadster as a rolling chassis ($37,100) and will install an unmodified powertrain and sell you a complete car for a base price of $50,000. The example tested here would sell for $69,050.