Peter Farr's Blog: Quick Spin: Superformance MKIII R Cobra kickstarts our hearts

Wednesday, 18 November 2009

Quick Spin: Superformance MKIII R Cobra kickstarts our hearts

This is from Autoblog. Whilst not the most beautiful car to me (unlike to the Autoblog team) this is what a real sportscar should look like. And go like. Now if only Ferrari would build retro cars like, for example the 250LM...

Quick Spin: Superformance MKIII R Cobra kickstarts our hearts: "
Filed under: Classics, Convertible, Performance, Quick Spin

Superformance MKIII R Cobra - Click above for high-res image gallery

It's mea culpa time. While it's probably best not to begin a review with an apology, this author would be fairly derelict in his auto bloggin' duty if he didn't admit that not only does this review represent his first time in a Cobra - ever - but that he went in wanting to love the car. After all, not only is the Cobra Daytona Coupe the single greatest car yours truly has ever driven, but it's fair to call me a Shelby-head. At least once a week, the fiancee is hollering to put one of several several Shelby books back in the bookcase. But still, before today, these hands and feet had never driven a Cobra.
Of course, purists will argue that's still the case. This gunmetal gray beauty wasn't built on Princeton Ave. in Venice Beach. Nor was it built at Shelby America's hanger near LAX. In fact, it wasn't even built in America. No, this particular Cobra - the Superformance MKIII R, a special version of their MKIII - is built in South Africa. Recently, too. The MKIII R actually has a modern, square-tube spaceframe chassis with different hard points and suspension than you'd find underneath a classic Cobra's skin. Perhaps it's not a 'real' Cobra, but here's what Carroll Shelby has to say about Superformance's efforts, 'It's not a true Shelby, but I've endorsed and licensed the car for being as close to correct and well-built as possible.' Good enough for us.

Gallery: Quick Spin: Superformance MKIII-R