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THE SHELBY COBRA'S LINES ARE ICONIC - AND EVEN BETTER AS A FULL CARBON FIBRE DIAMOND EDITION!

Published: 2023-08-11 07:43:06 Last Updated: 2023-08-12 11:04:04

The Shelby Cobra has been around for so long that if you’re part of a family that’s into motoring, then there’s a good chance your granddad even has stories about one, and possibly even his father. While it’s an American icon of the automotive world, there’s actually quite a strong connection to South Africa. They’re more common here than you’d think and there’s always a couple to spot at car gatherings, and they’re often seen entered into drag races and gymkhana-style events. The official Cobra Club has been around since 1986. The Cobra’s popularity is thanks to a few local companies that manufactured cars and components under licence, like Kit Car Centre, Superformance International and Hi-Tech Automotive. The latter supplied cars for the 2019 Ford V Ferrari biopic movie, showing just how good the quality is. These cars used fibreglass body panels to replicate the iconic car, and a few builders have attempted to recreate the panels in the original aluminium, but it’s both expensive and very hard work. We’ve personally seen hundreds of Cobras thanks to our long involvement with event coverage, but the one you see here that’s built under licence by Classic Recreations in the US has to be the best we’ve seen outside of SA. Yes, that line alludes to the fact that there’s a better one here, and there is - fully redesigned with incorporated aero that was tested in a wind tunnel. The difference being the car was built by a fanatical owner to make it a one-off for serious competition use. Classic Recreations modernised the body panels by creating them in carbon fibre, and with just a clear coat on top, their version is spectacular and has been called the Diamon Edition.

The car was created in honour of the Cobra and Shelby American’s 60th anniversary, and the production run is limited to just 10 units. “Preserving a legacy takes more than just craftsmanship and performance it requires an endless passion to innovate.” - Jeff Stone. The carbon Cobra has been updated where possible, and a lot is possible these days. There’s a bespoke, completely redesigned race chassis with inboard cantilever independent suspension from Schwartz Performance, 3-way adjustable coilovers, and custom independent rear suspension with CAD-designed billet rocker arms and spindles. Under the hood is a hand-built 3rd generation 5.0-litre Coyote Aluminator V8 with a Magnuson supercharger in play to create over 900 hp. It’s mated to a 6-speed manual Tremec T56 magnum transmission. This is all wrapped up in an autoclave-cured, aerospace grade, pre-preg carbon fibre body by Brothers Composites, and the whole body weighs just 40 kg. Daaaamn! The client can have the carbon covered in paint, but that would be silly. There’s also a specially-designed Diamond Edition plaque fitted with diamonds representing each unique build, a carbon fibre dash panel with Shelby Signature Diamond Edition emblazoned across, stripe-matched gauges and custom, diamond-stitched seats with an inset Diamond Edition medallion. Each owner will also get a specially-designed, stripe colour-matching carbon fibre race helmet, a Diamond Edition commemorative racing jacket, a Diamond Edition commemorative build book and an optional track experience. Which you’d expect at a $1 200 000 price tag.

Take a look at the YouTube video that's short, but shows off the stunner of a Shelby Cobra that wears a full carbon fibre body. Yeah, the most expensive and rarest Cobras wear aluminium, but this one in carbon fibre just works, and being a kid of the modern car era, I'd choose this one over an original any day of the week and twice on Sundays - if I has spare zeros in my bank account, of course: Classic Recreations Shelby Cobra Diamond Edition | Classic Recreations

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