Total newbie, gimme the basics

[offroadr35]

ok guys, i'm a car nut and fairly knowledgable mechanically and about most factory cars but am new to the replicas. There is an unbelievable amount of info on this site and i'm sure i'll spend hours reading up, but i was hoping someone could give me the basics. With all the used cars for sale lately i have been looking at possibly snatching one up instead of the Lotus Elise i have on order.

So, just the basics, which are the best builders? I mostly see ERA and SPF. What is the basic difference between the different cars? What sort of weight are we generally looking at? How reliable are the cars usually? Are they generally all track ready or are specific mods necessary? What are some very desireable parts/options? Last one i can think of for now, how do the Cobra replicas generally compare to the GT40 replicas such as CAV?

Any other info would be great. I'm sure you guys are really sick of answering these questions so i'm hoping one of you is bored enough to help me out.

Thanks,
Steve