Shelby Cobra replicas are a dime a dozen, your author has even seen one based on a Volkswagen Beetle, but some are more special than others. Classic Recreations, an authorized Shelby builder, has unveiled a carbon fiber-bodied replica that stands out with power and style.
Designed to celebrate Shelby American’s 60th birthday, the Cobra Diamond Edition is made from scratch; there’s no donor car required. It’s built around a race chassis fitted with a surprisingly advanced suspension system that includes three-way adjustable coilovers with remote external nitrogen reservoirs. Classic Recreations then adds a 5.0-liter Aluminator V8 engine that’s hand-built by Ford Performance and topped with a Magnuson Supercharger. The eight-cylinder develops approximately 900 horsepower and 750 pound-feet of torque.
Power reaches the rear wheels via a six-speed manual transmission. While the Diamond Edition looks like an old-school Cobra, it’s more advanced than its silhouette suggests: It offers a traction control system, a data logging function, as well as multiple power modes.
Although 900 horsepower is a jaw-dropping figure, it’s even more impressive when you take into account the roadster’s 2,300-pound weight. Reaching 60 mph from a stop takes around 3.2 seconds, and the Cobra tops out at about 190 mph. Massive tires help put the power to the pavement, while six-piston Shelby front calipers and four-piston Baer rear calipers grip 14-inch rotors to keep the power in check.
Once the bare chassis is completed, Classic Recreations turns its attention to the body. Built using aerospace-grade carbon fiber, it weighs merely 88 pounds and looks just like the original Cobra that Carroll Shelby raced in the 1960s, though the cabin has been extended by two inches to give taller drivers more space. Buyers can order the Diamond Edition with bare carbon fiber or select a custom paint color.
Inside, the two passengers sit on sport seats with diamond-stitched upholstery and racing harnesses. They face a carbon fiber dashboard that features a cluster of analog gauges, toggle switches, and a diamond-encrusted plate engraved with each car’s serial number.
Dropping a fiberglass Cobra body on an air-cooled Beetle chassis is a relatively cheap and easy endeavor; building a Cobra from scratch using top-notch materials doesn’t tick either box, so Classic Recreations charges $1.2 million for the Diamond Edition excluding options (which include what it refers to as a track experience). Production is limited to 10 units, and the firm notes two build slots are already spoken for.
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