Author Topic: Superformance anyone?  (Read 7659 times)

TTM

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Superformance anyone?
« on: September 17, 2020, 19:11:22 »
Good evening all,

Whilst this is perhaps not the best forum to ask this question I was wondering if some folks on here had experience with the Cobra replicas built by Superformance.
What are the technical, not so visible details which typically set them off from original Cobras?

The reason for asking is that I have one on the radar at the moment, a Mk2 FIA (I would not consider a Cobra without leaf springs), and even if I could afford a nice MkIV instead, the looks of the MkIV just do not do it for me - and by saying this I hope I will not get stoned by some possible Thames Ditton fundamentalists.

I searched through the forum for older posts on this topic but nothing interesting came out.

Experiences but also mere opinions and brain farts are welcome.
« Last Edit: September 18, 2020, 09:06:23 by TTM »

SunDude

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #1 on: September 18, 2020, 00:22:25 »
I've owned my Superformance MkIII since 2009 and can vouch for its outstanding build quality and paint finish. It will not disappoint you in this respect.

From an authenticity perspective, the MkIII (427 body style) has several variations from original that will bother the purist, but that the casual fan will never notice.

That said, the MkII (289 body style) is about as accurate as you'll get in a fiberglass Cobra. The chassis uses 3-inch main tube ladder frame design with transverse leaf-spring suspension, just like the original cars. The Superformance MkII is nearly identical to the official continuation-series cars from Shelby American (CSX8000 and CSX7500 series).

IMO, you can shop confidently here.

Good evening all,

Whilst this is perhaps not the best forum to ask this question I was wondering if some folks on here had experience with the Cobra replicas built by Superformance.
What are the technical, not so visible details which typically sets them off from original Cobras?

The reason for asking is that I have one on the radar at the moment, a Mk2 FIA (I would not consider a Cobra without leaf springs), and even if I could afford a nice MkIV instead, the looks of the MkIV just do not do it for me - and by saying this I hope I will not get stoned by some possible Thames Ditton fundamentalists.

I searched through the forum for older posts on this topic but nothing interesting came out.

Experience but also mere opinions and brain farts of all sorts are welcome.

TTM

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #2 on: September 18, 2020, 17:48:18 »
Thank you SunDude for your feedback. The car I am considering has an aluminium bodywork.

Are you aware of some of the details which tells them apart from original cars?

As a start it seems the wishbones are shaped a little differently and use ball joints rather than bronze bearings, at least on the 289 FIA.

SunDude

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #3 on: September 18, 2020, 21:27:14 »
Thank you SunDude for your feedback. The car I am considering has an aluminium bodywork.

Are you aware of some of the details which tells them apart from original cars?

As a start it seems the wishbones are shaped a little differently and use ball joints rather than bronze bearings, at least on the 289 FIA.

I'm not aware of any Superformance MkII Cobras that have aluminum bodywork. Do you know what chassis number it is? I actually bought my 427 car from the guy who developed the MkII for Superformance, and could check with him.

Any chance the car you're looking at is a Kirkham, also sold in the U.K. through Hawk?

TTM

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #4 on: September 19, 2020, 08:25:30 »
PM sent.

bobbylangley

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #5 on: September 20, 2020, 13:25:17 »
Why don't you have a word with Gerry Hawkridge, Hawk Cars. You'll get what you want there.

TTM

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #6 on: September 20, 2020, 18:24:15 »
Where I live I cannot register a Cobra of any sort which is younger than 30 years old, or can buy a younger one that was homologated and registered before the retarded administration decided a few years back to ban modern Cobra replicas.
« Last Edit: September 20, 2020, 18:43:13 by TTM »

bobbylangley

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #7 on: September 27, 2020, 20:11:16 »

TTM

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #8 on: October 09, 2020, 19:27:45 »
It turned out that the car I was interested in featured a fiberglass body rather than an aluminium one, as first mentioned by the merchant trying to sell it.
I also found out that the seller is trying to make a 50% over his buying price, and I just cannot get my head around spending a 6 figure amount into a Cobra replica made in fiberglass, as well made as it can be. I am beginning to find this whole Cobra hype a little ridiculous and embarrassing. Think I'll prefer to buy a Corvette which at least is a properly industrialised car and I could not care less about the redneck/chav image.

AC Ventura

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #9 on: October 11, 2020, 14:59:28 »
That’s great, why don’t we turn this in a Corvette forum now? In case anybody is confused this is supposed to be the AC Owners Club forum.

TTM

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #10 on: October 11, 2020, 19:50:24 »
Sorry about that. I was just thinking out loud and here we see how the powers of the Internet can cause discomfort out of loose considerations.

By the way, if this is the A.C. Owners Club forum, are Autokraft owners supposed to lecture A.C. owners on what they may and may not post?
« Last Edit: October 12, 2020, 07:46:47 by TTM »

dkp_cobra

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #11 on: October 12, 2020, 08:13:37 »
Sorry about that. I was just thinking out loud and here we see how the powers of the Internet can cause discomfort out of loose considerations.

By the way, if this is the A.C. Owners Club forum, are Autokraft owners supposed to lecture A.C. owners on what they may and may not post?
Yes, let us restart the discussion about whether MK IV cars are AC cars or not. That's the right theme for Corona times  :o

westcott

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #12 on: October 12, 2020, 22:43:04 »
Sorry about that. I was just thinking out loud and here we see how the powers of the Internet can cause discomfort out of loose considerations.

By the way, if this is the A.C. Owners Club forum, are Autokraft owners supposed to lecture A.C. owners on what they may and may not post?

Ah , now it's down to business, I heard something about that difference in the past and thought it would no longer exist in the views here.

Thank you for your clear division into AC owners and Autokraft drivers.
« Last Edit: October 12, 2020, 23:07:36 by westcott »
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler!

AC Ventura

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #13 on: October 13, 2020, 00:29:10 »
Sorry guys must dash, I’m off to the Superformance Forum to ask what everybody thinks about the Autokraft Mk IV and then decide that actually I’d prefer a 390 GT Mustang, but definitely not one with leaf springs 😜 
« Last Edit: October 13, 2020, 00:31:06 by AC Ventura »

TTM

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Re: Superformance anyone?
« Reply #14 on: October 13, 2020, 18:17:02 »
That’s great, why don’t we turn this in a Corvette forum now? In case anybody is confused this is supposed to be the AC Owners Club forum.

Such a pathetic message called for pretty much nothing else than a tongue-in-cheek reply, but some decided to take it literally instead.
I would suggest people who have a chip on their shoulder the size of a Corvette, or any other car they don't want to even just hear about, to just move on instead of wasting any bandwidth with any kindergarten bigotry.
« Last Edit: October 13, 2020, 18:20:20 by TTM »