1,000 hp Superformance drift Cobra shakes up SEMA ’17

[ACademic]

I've read all the comments and I have to say that many here are either misinformed or don't understand the true context of it all.

Vlado of V's Performance has been an expert Superformance installer in the Orange County, CA area for several years. His crew supports both Hillbank Motors (essentially the HQ for Superformance) and many area private owners on all aspects of Cobra/GT40 mechanics. They can do it all and they do it well.

But my point is not to make any glowing endorsements for either Superformance, Hillbank or V's Performance. I don't know this for certain, but given the amount of work that flows from Hillbank customers to V's Performance, the Superformance body and chassis that they use for the drift Cobra may very well have been donated or loaned to them for a song and dance (or leased for cheap to keep it legal). It's nothing more than an incredible marketing platform for the Superformance and Hillbank brands.

The fact that Vlado gets to take this car to national events (in this case, SEMA, but they also do many nationally-televised Barrett-Jackson auctions), flog the absolute crud out of the car, burn up someone else's tires relentlessly (several sets over the course of an event by the promoting sponsors), and gaining national media exposure for the car, the brand and perhaps even the drifting sport...All of that is truly exceptional. He's probably having loads of fun and on (mostly) someone else's dime. Not a bad gig if you can get it.

Disclaimer: I'm not a fan of "drifting" either. But here's a great example where a Cobra is being used in a marketing sort-of-way that attracts people to the hobby. And if that ultimately sells more Cobras, then that's healthy for the industry. Drifting is just the conduit, nothing more. Intelligent marketing, plain and simple.

Your mileage may vary. Thanks for reading.