Since , we've reviewed 11 replicas of the great Shelby Cobra roadster. The Cobra is the undisputed darling of the kit-car industry, comprising about 70 percent of all kit cars sold. We first noticed the ads for Factory Five Racing's roadster kit in We were skeptical: Our experience told us that inexpensive Cobra replicas usually feel like what they are—cobbled-together fiberglass bathtubs with wheels. So we didn't get around to a test. A year ago, Factory Five Racing even put together a series for its "spec racer" car.
It's pretty much the same kit car, but now it's outfitted for racing duties. So we rang up the folks at Factory Five Racing, and a short time later, two factory-assembled cars were delivered to our Ann Arbor office for tests. We've all heard of dreamers losing their minds and their worldly goods trying to build cars—even kit cars—but the combined backgrounds of these brothers—in business, engineering, and manufacturing—brought a discriminating and more cautious quality to the often tumultuous business of making cars.
Often times, kit builders spend thousands of dollars on basically their engines. This is also another one from Sylva Autokits Ltd, designed to showcase the style of motorsports in the mid-sixties and seventies. The Sylva Spectre is light in performance and can be used on virtually any engine, whether motorcycles or motor vehicles.
The Sylva Riot is not only cheap but powerful too. The car is light and powerful when the motorcycle engine is in use. However, the Ford Zetec engine gives the car a smooth drive and acceleration speed. Although the car is not as powerful as the ones I mentioned earlier, it is still one of the cheapest best value kit cars.
Vindicator Cars Ltd are popularly known for their expertise in making durable and reliable cheap kit cars. Also, the Mk4 XL is built with wider boot space. The Sprint Mk4 offers great value for your money, so while considering good cheap kit cars to build, you should put the MK4 on the list. Robin Hood Engineering is a renowned manufacturer of good, reliable, and cheap kit cars.
The Robin hood project 2B is known for its chassis which is made from tube-like steel and was nicknamed 2B for short. If you want to build a roadster kit car on a low budget, then this car is the best for you.
It runs on a Ford Sierra cc,cc, cc Pinto as well as the V6 and V8 engines and motorcycle engines. The Locost low cost is used as a term for all self-built replicas of the Lotus 7 two-seater capacity sports car. However, Shelby knew the car had yet more potential in it. In , he started working on the iconic Shelby Cobra , powered by a big block 7L V8, pumping out around bhp and over lb ft of torque.
To fit the larger engine, the body had to be stretched and widened with necessary improvements to the chassis and suspension to take the extra power. With this new ci, the Shelby sports car did in just over 4 seconds, which, even compared to modern standards, is insane.
For years, it was the fastest American car in every aspect of the word. If the passenger could reach forward and grab the note during acceleration, they could keep it. Between and , Shelby Cobra s were produced, and Shelby Cobra s were produced. It is difficult to see how many were left, however, we know that many were crashed back in the day, due to owners not being used to that level of power in such a light car. After the original Cobras ceased production in , there have been kit car manufacturers producing replica Shelby Cobras to provide the same feeling an original gives.
There are still manufacturers making replicas today, including Shelby American in Las Vegas, Factory Five which is one of the most popular manufacturers in the States, and UK Cobra kit car manufacturers Pilgrim Motorsports. One of the good things about building a kit car is that they cater to a wide variety of budgets. Depending on your budget and how much involvement you want, you also need to choose between whether to go for a fully built Cobra kit car , or whether to build it yourself with a modular build kit.
This sounds like a lot, but is only a fraction of what an original Cobra would fetch, while still offering the same feeling and power, finished to a high standard. A fully-built replica is complete in four months from your order time, so you could be driving along those country roads in no time.
Factory Five Racing is honoring its original pricing as shown in its first ever advertisement found in Kit Car Magazine shown above back in What this gets you is everything needed to transform a Ford Mustang donor car into a beautiful Shelby Cobra including the tube chassis, fiberglass body and interior. Not included with the kit car is basically the entire driveline late-model Fox Body Mustang including the engine, transmission, driveshaft, front and rear suspension, brakes, steering rack, fuel tank and engine computer.
If base models aren't quite your thing, Factory Five Racing also introduced a 25th Anniversary special edition Cobra loaded up with exclusive goodies. Exclusive touches include a bronze powder-coated chassis, satin black aluminum for the footboxes and wheel wells, bronze wheels, diamond-stitched seats, special-edition instrument gauges and 25th anniversary badging inside and out.
Either one of these kits are incredible options if you're in the market for a Shelby Cobra replica, and they won't last long. Announcing Online Auctions!
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