Kirkham Marketing Question. What do you guys really want?

[Murphy]

David, this is Mike Murphy, (the two 427's). Can't wait to get them. One of the best features of your cars their exclusive nature. Don't know if I would have bought them if you also also offered a "cheap version", doesn't seen to fit with the image you are trying to portray. Just my take. MM

[ChipBeck]

Originally Posted by Murphy

David, this is Mike Murphy, (the two 427's). Can't wait to get them. One of the best features of your cars their exclusive nature. Don't know if I would have bought them if you also also offered a "cheap version", doesn't seen to fit with the image you are trying to portray. Just my take. MM

Mike,
I think you have it exactly right. Kirkham has spent ten years establishing itself as the Lexus of Cobra builders. When Lexus started up everybody asked why anybody would buy a Lexus when you could buy the "original" Mercedes. Lexus concentrated on building the best luxury cars with outstanding quality, Mercedes quality has fallen off a cliff with Consumer Reports rating them below Kia and Hundai. I quit buying Mercedes years ago and now buy Lexus as I believe them to be better. I think Kirkham has done the same thing to all other Cobra makers including Shelby. When BMW decided to build the Mini they did not want to tarnish the BMW brand by going downmarket, hence the Cooper brand. When Kirkham starts selling kits or plans or boxes of parts for others to build(and screw up) it will immediatly make all Kirkham cars suspect and the brand will lose a lot of it's prestiege. There are many makers fighting for "budget" Cobra sales, Kirkham and Shelby are alone at the top and Shelby can't deliver. Don't go downmarket with the Kirkham name, if you gotta go there, call it something else. Downmarket Lexus cars are called Toyotas and Scions. JMO

Chip

[CSX 4027]

A Kirkham lightweight Jag E type Cobra Killer with 400 hp and 2100 lbs. Best of all, it's a vintage car that can be vintage raced and win.

[ffindling]

Originally Posted by CSX 4027

A Kirkham lightweight Jag E type Cobra Killer with 400 hp and 2100 lbs. Best of all, it's a vintage car that can be vintage raced and win.

I think it depends on the sanctioning body, but I think generally for a car
to acceptable for vintage racing it actually has to have a "vintage" provenance.
So you can build an exact pin for pin replica of an alloy-body E-type and it
won't be acceptable for vintage racing unless you can prove it was built in the
time period when such cars were actually built. Several extremely accurate and
beautifully constructed Aston-Martin DBR1's that are exactly like the one that
Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori used to win LeMans in 1959 have been built,
but they are not "vintage" from the standpoint of vintage racing. Same thing
goes for Lotus 49's that have been built in recent years. Despite the fact they
are not elgible for vintage racing events, they are still highly desirable cars
and will give you the feeling that the late Jim Clark must have felt when he
braked into the "Tarzanbocht" at Zandvoort in 1967.

....Fred

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by ffindling

I think it depends on the sanctioning body, but I think generally for a car to acceptable for vintage racing it actually has to have a "vintage" provenance.
So you can build an exact pin for pin replica of an alloy-body E-type and it
won't be acceptable for vintage racing unless you can prove it was built in the time period when such cars were actually built.

I think that that is no longer the case,,,,
The FIA recently created the Historic Technical Passport (HTP) to complement the Historic Certificate, which is only granted to original cars. This means that, for example, an alloy CSX or KMP car, with true-to-design undercarriage and drivetrain, could obtain an HTP and be eligible for Vintage Races.

The HTP is essentially a sporting document. It is intended to ensure that a car complies with the specification of the car it purports to be. Whether that car is wholly original, partly original, assembled wholly or partly out of period components or a copy or replica built recently does not matter.