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Mr. Dickey:
The statement by you and others that the cars would have to have the "same" engines, tires, transmissions, etc... is not true. Every magazine out there compares "similar" vehicles, usually by price range. This is usually a CSX4000 owners excuse as to why a $60,000.00 + Superformance Cobra will beat it at every test, period.
As far as the weight goes, the 514 c.i. engine isn't more than 50 - 70 pounds heavier and since the Superformance Cobra is so much less (price wise), we will give it a aluminum block to even out the weight issues.
Now, the FE engine family was raced by Ford only for a short period of time. The 429/460 engine family has been the Ford racing engine of choice for over 30 years, it has been in Nascar, Pro Stock, Drag boats, Monster trucks, Cobra's, etc... The engine is better than the FE engine in every way possible, period. The 427 S.O. engine is only expensive because the parts are very rare. The 460 engine is way more dependable than the 427 S.O. engine, period.
Mr. Dickey:
Let's say you have a 1990's Thunderbird race car you are having built. Would you pay $30,000.00 for a Iron Block 427 c.i. engine putting out 550 horsepower (until it goes BOOM!)? Or, would you take a 10 times more reliable 557 c.i. all aluminum 750+ horsepower engine for $25,000.00?
It's "real" simple, Superformance has a standard 514c.i. engined Cobra with a Tremec TKO 5-speed transmission for almost half of the price of a CSX4000 Cobra.
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