Whatever happened to Contemporary?

[Russ Dickey]

Last summer, I past up the chance to buy a really nice Contemporary Classic here in the KC area. It was FE powered and, with the exception of the lug nuts on the wheels, was very authentic looking.

I didn't buy it because I had heard that Contemporary had gone out of business, and was afraid to buy a product from a company that had gone under. Just wondering what happened to them? I remember them being a close competitor to ERA in terms of quality and authenticity, but maybe I was wrong.

I also read elsewhere in these forums that FFR has obtained the molds for the Contemporary bodies. Anybody have more info on that?

As a side note, driving the Contemporary was awesome. Very tight, solid car. However, it was a bit tight in the cockpit. I am not a huge guy, but at 6'0, 225lb, I was a little surprised that it was that snug. I've read that most of the new replicas have dropped foot boxes, extended wheelbases, etc. to account for this. I'm just amazed at how Dan Gurney raced these things in the 60's...

Thanks for all the info,

Russ