Why do you own a Cobra?

[Yetiman]

A friend of mine built a Cobra a number of years ago and I was always hanging around helping if I could or just taking it all in.

I had some pretty fun cars over the years and had rides in some pretty fast stuff, but I enjoyed the blasts in his Cobra better than most any of them.
So when it went up for sale I bought it.

I am more of a sports car guy than a muscle car guy and the high point of my summers is going to vintage races at Road America. The Cobra gives me a decent taste of that on a regular basis and it fits in at just about any gathering, be it street rods, muscle cars, sports cars or autocrossing.

And I kind of like the attention too. I wasn't used to that being something of an abominable snowman myself.

[speed220mph]

Cutting through all the haze, because it was there - - -

[Dans65]

I'd always loved the Cobras from the first days in middle school, when a friend of mine told me about Shelby's Shelbys & Shelby's Cobras. And I bought every book I could afford to find out about the cars and dreamed how cool it would be to drive one, to own one. But I never thought I would ever be able to afford it. It wasn't 'til about four years ago when my best friend purchased a FFR MkII, inwhich I fell in loved with. And just maybe I can do this in the next several years. And here I am now Building a dream car.
Dan

[Baz]

Year - 1964. My age - 20 and car mad. Then I saw a picture of my first Cobra. "Wow" I said. "One day I'll have one of them." Living in Sydney, Australia, I didn't get to see any real Cobras, only the odd replica. I am now a retired 64 year old and have finally started to realise my dream. My car is in the process of being built and should be road registered by July, 2008. No longer will I have to rely on looking at Cobra pictures, posters and models on my bar. Soon I will have the real thing.

[Michael P. Wole]

Why does a dog lick himself....because he can.. I have a Cobra for the same reason...BECAUSE I CAN.... NOW...couldn't afford one while raising a family and getting offspring through the education process what with morgage and all.

[Don]

First live exposure to the Cobra was at Bridgehampton ( Long Island NY ) Road course, nothing more than got to have one, took longer than anticipated.

I also wanted a Chaparral , not particular, either the 65 or 66 would have been fine, but Hap Sharp and Jim Hall needed both.

[trularin]

Love for the car.

[CBattaglia]

Simple. Its the baddest car on the road under 100k. Period.

[RedBarchetta]

Why? Mostly because I've already gone down the muscle car route and the Corvette route, and I'm not a big enough fan to go down the street rod route. The Cobra offers me an exotic car experience on a beer budget. Plus it's relatively easier to wrench on than most performance cars, and I can't afford something FAST that I can't work on mostly myself.

-Dean

[fastraxsg]

I had a motorcyle accident in 1996 and now can't ride street bikes and had to give up MX. I miss the wind in the face, the speed and handling of my ZXR7 and the closest thing I could afford was a Cobra. I started with this old rat roadster but now my Hurricane will be shipped soon.

[Dangerous Doug]

Why? Like any good love affair, the attraction was overwhelming and I couldn't restrain myself...

[Maricopa]

It was 1980 and I was a 14 yr. old gear head (bought a '66 Mustang that year) reading a car magazine in English class and there in the pages was a little, low, red-as-can-be Cobra. At the time I knew all about Shelby Mustangs but somehow had ignored the little MG looking things he messed with before that. My next exposure was an original FIA displayed at Bell Ford at their annual car show. I was there to buy 'Stang parts at the swap meet but spent the better part of the day staring at that beat up old POS.
Fast forward 15 years or so. The Mustang was gone, I had 2 kids and a mortgage but hadthe chance to buy a no-name uncompleted 'kit' from a guy down the street. I passed but the flame was re-lit. Fast forward again after a few years playing with sandbuggies and starting a business I discovered FFR and developed a plan. Save for 3 years and buy one. I lasted 6 months but it still took me 3 years to finish it.

A Cobra is the culmination of all things a 14 yr old (in a 41 yr old body) could want in a car. Low, curvy, fast and loud. It's the ultimate cross between minimalism and wretched excess. It's oversized motor and tires are covered by the body the same way lingerie (I'll forgive the French for this one!) covers a woman's body, just enough but not too much. It doesn't have anything to hold your friggin' drink (get a bottle of water and toss it behind the seat!). There's no switch to flip to cool you down (and no compressor to lug down the motor). It doesn't shift for you or help you with the steering or brakes (be a man, do it yourself!). It offers almost no protection from the other cars on the road and you have to constantly work just to keep it going in a generally straight direction. It's the ultimate non PC car. Rude, crude and socially unacceptable. Except in this case even those offended by it still want a ride.
Most of all it does what you tell it to. It turns, stops and-best of all-it GOES! All while looking damn good.

[imagine2frolic]

My 1st car was a 62 MGA, and my 3rd was a Tiger. You mix the first body with the second motor, and you have a Cobra289.

I sold my business, and sailed away for 4 years. I am now back on land working, and I am looking for that roadster on steroids drive once again. Small block with 275 hp with under car exhaust, and an everyday driver. Single-handed sailors don't worry about the weather. Just the progress......lololololololol

[Juggernaut]

The first day I saw one, about 40 years ago I loved it. I set a goal for myself that I would own one some day. For the last 29 years, I've always had something Cobra related in my house as a visual cue for me not to lose sight of my goal.

Now, I have one in my garage!

[ERA2188]

It's just a flat out blast to drive. You forget all of the bs that you have to deal with, and just purely enjoy the sound and feel of going through the gears down a winding road. I just jump in an go for a spin and all is good with the world. Plus you can plan track events, participate in car show and other events that are interesting sidelines as well. And 60's technology is easier to fix / maintain that the newer stuff. A well built car, properly maintained, will last forever (changing a motor now and then perhaps). For my money, the most enjoyable car ever built - the lines of the classic Italian and English sports car - with a small block V8 (or the Big Block for you 427 guys). It is also a treat - a car show - every time I go in the garage for whatever reason.

[HI Cobra]

For me it is a great way to take a mental vacation from the "real" world.
Nothing like a run to the North Shore to erase stress from work.
It is amazing that there are so many people who had a friend who owned
a "real" one. For just under 1,000 Cobras being built they sure have gotten
around a lot!

[Lowell W]

All of the above: teenager when the cars were new, most beautiful body ever on a car, insane power, ultimate race car, big Ford V-8, more fun than any/all my motorcycles, ass-kicking reputation. Other than that, just an irrational attraction to the car.

Sort of like a P-51 Mustang: an icon of the times.

Lowell

[mikiec]

Saw my first on a road course in 1964. The car belonged to a friend of a friend of the family. Got to sit in it and drool....

In 1966 I walked into a ford dealership in Boston and there sat... A 289 cobra; a 427 street car and one of the GT40's sold to the public. Being a starving HS student with maybe a buck in my pocket I cried.

In 1985 I almost bought one of the Autocraft cars. Put down a deposit on a car at a dealership in Oklahoma. Flew out there to pick it up, dealer sold it to some one else, for more money, about an hour before I got there.

Finally, in Sept 2000 I picked up a large crate. Jan. 4, 2001 I put my FFR POS on the road. Been smiling every since.

Mike

Maricopa.. Your welcome.

[trctrdrvr]

my brother got me interested, I really didn't know $hit about cobras untill I was 40, but after seeing 1 I knew I had to have it, sold my business 5 yrs ago and came out with enough money to get started, bought my SV and should have it completed this yr

[Maricopa]

The best laid plans Mikiec.