Would you drive....
 

A replica 356 speedster or a replica AC 427 cobra?

I don't know what the Cobra looks like. So, I'd take the Porsche 356...but not a replica...there are lot of real ones that I see in the Chicago Porsche Club...if we are talking about the same 356.

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I'd have to go with the 356. Although both are beautiful beasts, to me the 356 is the choice.

As soon as I finish up the projects I'm working on, I'm either going to build a Factory Five Cobra or a 550 Spyder replica. I like the 356 replicas also, but they're a lot more common than the 550; probably because they're more comfortable and practical. The 550 is stunning in person.

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k2...11/spyder1.jpg

Here is a link to the Chicago 356 Club:

http://www.midwest356.org/

Here is a nice 356:

The speedster is a cool car, but given a choice?

AC Cobra, hands down.

A nice red one!:

What is this??:

Hi,

It depends on which ones. The Superformance Cobras from South Africa are considered the best - www.superformance.com, but I also like the all-alloy ones from - www.KirkhamMotorsports.com These are produced by a former MIG 15, 17 and 19 Licensee in Poland. Of course, Shelby is also making a replica - www.shelbyamerican.com which is probably quite good too. The main difference is that none of these are using actual Bristol Ace chassis. IMHO, all the others are ********************.

For the Speedsters, I think only the Beck - www.beckspeedster.com is worthwhile. I also like their 550 replica. I have a friend who has an original 550 (#47) from new (see pic below - he and I discussing the car) , and a Beck 550, which he drives because the original is too valuable to risk having some immigrant ram into it. He says the Beck is better than the original - more power, better brakes, stiffer chassis. I drove his original, but not his Beck. I did drive one Speedster replica from Boulder Speedster - www.boulderspeedster.com and wasn't impressed. Poor Fibreglass lay-up and felt like a kit car.

Hope this helps...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

yeah, I actually meant a 550...sorry. Anyway, my real question was would you drive a replica?

I would love to have a 550! The wife wants a Cobra so it looks like it will be a cobra for me ;)

That is a FERRARI!

Hi,

YES! If it were any of the ones I mentioned, definitely!...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

AC Cobra gets my vote as well, although a 550 Spyder replica is nice, but you can't beat the horspower of the Cobra.

OK, I understand now. No, I would not drive a replica. If I wanted one, and could not afford or find the real deal, I would move onto something else to dream about!

Really? Wow, cool! This that an in-line 6 or 8 or a V12??

BTW I know a guy that has a CGT, 996TTS, Ford GT40 (old real) Ford GT(new), Mustang 69 GT500 and a Superformance Cobra. I asked why the replica. He said it is much better then the original.

Do the Ford GT's look similar? Thanks.

Hi,

Interesting, looks like a Ferrari 100MM, but also like a replica. If it is an original, it's been restored to Better than Factory condition, a shame really.

The early Ferraris were basically pieces of junk which went like stink. The Body panels didn't match up well and they weren't especially straight being hand formed. It does have 6- Dual Webbers w/ Velocity stacks, and the inverted dual Oil Filters, so it's definitely a Ferrari V12, possible original. Interesting pic...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

I was thinking mille miglia as well. Definitely a 12 cylinder.

I wish I had "Velocity Stacks"! That sounds so cool!

VERY much so.

:cheers:

Vignale bodied Ferrari 250 MM. WAAAAYYYYY ahead of it's time.

http://www.pirro.com/All.Ferraris/ferraris-by-vignale/index.html

Hi,

You'd be surprised how tiny these are. I mean you have to look up to see the driver of the 'Spriget' next to you at the Stoplight, look at the scale of the spyder next to a 356B in the pic. But, they're really a fantastic feeling. The Beck is almost triple the HP of the original w/ all disc brakes...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

What does "Vignale" mean? Is that a designers name? Or does it go well on Fettuccini??

Like an Elan next to a Miata. It lookes like 3/4 scale.

A designer used by Ferrari until 1953.

Hi,

Good call! I didn't think the grill on the 100MM was this big...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Hi,

Yep, I used to own a '72 Elan S3 SE w/ Big Valve Head. That is the one car I wished I'd never sold. You didn't drive that car, you wore it! The Boxster seems Mammoth compared to it, and the Elan would take the Boxster on a Road Course, I'm sure of it, especially the 26R's...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

http://www.automotivelegends.com/USA/malibu/splash/

I was looking at this company. Jay Leno bought one of these...I think a choice he would make would be somewhat credible. I just love the 550.

Hi,

Yes and No. The Ford GT is actually 4"-5" Taller and the original Holman-Moody's which were the definition of Hardscrabble, even the 17 homologation cars which were produced. The Ford GT, by comparison, is Plush!

Most people don't realize that the GT40's weren't actually Fords (which is why Ford can't call the GT a GT40, because Holman-Moody owns that name). Remembering the disaster in the 1955 Le Mans, where Mercedes driver Pierre Leveigh hit an Austin-Healey M100S and crashed his Mercedes W196S into the stands, decapitating 11 Fans, killing another 71, and injuring 76 more (the reason Mercedes withdrew from Le Mans for almost 50 years), Ford wanted to distance itself from liability. So, they contracted Specialty Race Car maker Holman-Moody to produce, register, and enter the cars as their own.

Holman-Moody, which survives to this day, registered many more chassis than they actually produced. So, they produced the GT40 Mk II Replica, but assigned some of the remaining chassis numbers to them. For all intents and purposes, they are a continuation of the originals, right down to chassis #s, rather than replicas.

But, Safir Cars LTD. (UK) bought the original tooling from Holman-Moody in the 70's and produced several Replicas in the late 80's-early 90's. These cost about twice ($300k) what the Ford GT costs ($150k).

The Ford GT is more modern and more refined (compared to the originals). A Surgeon, who is a member of the local Lotus Club, just bought a Ford GT this past spring which I got to drive at a Speed Event. It's a really nice car...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

Hi,

I agree, Leno knows his stuff, or at least the people he employs do. The manager of his auto storage facility in Burbank is a fellow Esprit owner and pretty active on the Esprit Forums.

He says that Jay drives a different car every day and he phones this guy to tell him which one to get ready. I suspect he may have had some input. I can check with him, but I never heard of this outfit, not that they're not good, just never heard of them...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

MN, any information would be greatly appreciated! By the way, on the bottom of the website is the CGT speed record run at Talladega.

Cobra fan here....

but I think I'd tire of it after I got it out of my system

Probably the Cobra just for the sheer fun the sound and power - but that 550 replica looks pretty alluring....

I also wouldn't mind either that Austin Healy 3000 or Sunbeam Tiger in Jim's picture!

i think the cobra looks like it means business more than the porsche, but id drive a porsche instead.

btw, saw one the other day

Since I already have a real Porsche convertible, I'd probably buy the AC cobra replica because it's so doggone fast.

Of course, I'd probably have to look into buying an Atom before an AC cobra if blinding quick is what I am after.

These are pipe dreams though... I don't have the pocketbook or garage space for another car beyond the two I own and enjoy today.

Hi,

Yea, that's a pic from this year's Intermarque Spring Fling, an annual Car Show here in the TC made up of all the local Car Clubs. That's a small portion of the cars which were on display, including our Boxster, just outside the pic...

Happy Motoring!... Jim'99

how much does a replica 550 go for?