Run and hide little cobra

[mr bruce]

since we're "whatiffin", I gots to disagree. Back in the old days of slot cars, and I'm talkin' the big commercial tracks from the 60s, the ones with the verticle highbanks, that run 1 2/4th scale cars, the most popular car was the Cheetah, I don't remember ANY Cobras being run. Now adays all the old timers reconize the Cheetah wheras most people ask if a Cobra is an MG, Vette or Carmen Ghia.

[mr bruce]

http://slotcaremporium.com/default.aspx

[mr bruce]

http://slotblog.net/index.php?showtopic=11266

[DMXF]

Sal makes a good point in that the Cobra was cut short of its full development. I also seem to remember reading that the Cheetah's suffered from poor aerodynamics and suspension design flaws that probably would have limited all out racing success. The only real thing it seems to have going for it is power to weight ratio. That 215mph sounds questionable and I wouldn't believe it unless substantiated by evidence and solid, proven analysis. I'm sure it's a fun car to drive though, especially if the new versions have design improvements to address some of the issues.

[John McMahon]

Well, you could also say the Cheetah's development was cut short too.

The second aluminum bodied Cheetah was sent to GM Testing where it pulled the highest lateral accelration GM had ever seen at the time (1.18g) and comparable to the handling of cars of today.

Bill Thomas was developing the 'Super Cheetah' as a street version of the Cheetah, he was going to stretch the body 8 inches so it could fit on a Corvette chassis. In Sept 1965, before the Super Cheetah body could be sent out for fiberglass molds to be made, a fire broke out in Thomas's shop and destroyed it all.

I believe a total of 37 Cheetahs were built. To me, this is the all American built race car. I love the look, it screams American 1960s overkill. No grace whatsoever about it.

...plus, only a few replicas exist. I'd love to own one.

You da man, Mr Bruce!!!!

[DMXF]

Skid pad alone doesn't mean much as far as overall handling, it's just one parameter. From some internet searching on the Cheetah, following are some interesting tidbits:

"did quite well on the skid pad, it was concluded that the lack of torsional rigidity was responsible for the erratic handling."

"The handling was never widely acclaimed, however, and it was obvious that Titus’ skill was making up for a lot.....A local Chevrolet dealer picked up the sponsorship, and Titus raced the car briefly, but never with any outstanding success."

"A well detailed Cheetah was a beautiful machine, although it had a number of critical drawbacks in either everyday transportation or control on a race track. "

"The Cheetah was never really intended to be a race car.
Like most other Chevy specials, it’s primary purpose was to make money.
But to make money, it had to be produced as economically as possible, which meant few specially machined or welded parts."

"Practically every piece in the drive train, from the radiator back to the rear hubs was right our of the Corvette." This manifests in the flaws that many kit cars suffer from, in that you are taking suspension components designed to operate at certain points in space relative to one another and putting them on another chassis in different locations. Things like CG to roll center relationships and other parameters will never be just right.....usually only some things can be brought in while others are just what you end up with. The older Corvette rear suspension design is also far inferior to the upper and lower control arm Cobra rear suspension. Corvette racers from back in the day have told me the main way they overcame the suspension shortcomings was to use springs as stiff as possible to minimize suspension travel and of course tires as wide as possible.

The Cheetah also had drum brakes, which says alot.

The Cheetah appeared to have quickly created a bad reputation among drivers due to the poor handling......and there were many accidents as a result.

[mr bruce]

http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/c...9&iDNumID=6022