New Cobra buyer - Questions - Driving Them...

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by AdamIsAdam

Is a Superformance or ERA worth a $15-25k price difference over a well built Factory Five?

A lot of people can't visually recognize the difference between a FFR, SPF, or an ERA. To them, there would be no difference, and that's fine. To others, the difference is marked. The older FFRs have a very pronounced posterior, SPFs have their own eccentricities, ERAs have rectangular frames (instead of round ones). Some actually prefer the differences, others don't. The hips, fenders, and stances of the three cars are totally different but, if you can't see them, then it doesn't matter. If all three were parked side by side, almost anyone could spot some of the obvious differences, but not unless they were side by side. Some of the big differences that might jump out are the curves of the body itself, some of the smaller differences are things like the direction of the wipers, whether the pedals are floor mounted, the angle of the radiator, the angle of the windshield, etc. From a performance perspective, there are plenty of track quality FFR builds out there that will run circles around my FE powered ERA. But if you don't know what an FE is, or why it's important, then it doesn't matter. When it comes to performance, if the car "wows you," then that's what you want -- and it doesn't matter what's under the hood or what the car looks like. Would you pay an extra five grand for 6 pin drive hubs that you can't even see? How about an outboard braked IRS rear? An extra grand for a reverse rotating Smiths speedo? What about fitted side curtains? If you can't spot the differences, or if they don't matter to you, then you shouldn't pay for them.