[RENEW1]

According to my Town's tax assessor, there will be no $500 max value for any Cobra replica if it is not an original more than 25 years old. He referred me to section 14-1, definitions, of the motor vehicle code which defines a special interest vehicle as follows:

"Antique, rare or special interest motor vehicle" means a motor vehicle twenty-five years old or older which is being preserved because of historic interest and which is not altered or modified from the original manufacturer's specifications.
The wording in the changes in PA 09-187 read as follows:
"Except as otherwise provided by the general statutes, property subject to this section shall be valued at the same percentage of its then actual valuation as the assessors have determined with respect to the listing of real estate for the same year, except that any antique,rare or special interest motor vehicle, as defined in section 14-1, as amended by this act, shall be assessed at a value of not more than five hundred dollars".
It goes on to say that if a vehicle as defined by 14-1 does not have antique plates you can get the $500 limit if you prove to the assessor the car as defined by 14-1 meets that definition. Cars with antique plates do not need to prove that the car meets the definition of 14-1 if it has antique plates.
In summary, no antique plates, no $500 limit.