Jim Nowak

Hey guys just thought you should know this but it's quite sad.

From a friend:

"Yes, Bob Devore was my co-founder in DEVEK, the DEV being from his last name, and the EK being from mine. His 2V bored and stroked engine with a custom after market engine management system put out 709hp and 610ft-lbs on an engine dyno when they inadvertantly buzzed the engine to 10,000 rpm.

Bob, an Intel VP, was killed by another Intel employee who had taken him for a joy ride in his cobra kit car. He took an off ramp at 130, flipped the car, which caught fire, and Bob was trapped underneath and burned to death."

I'll stick to my 928.

Jim Nowak

Normy

-Just goes to show you that COMMON SENSE is important!

I'll drive my car fast at times, but I know when to say "that's enough", and more often than not I find myself saying this in a car that can roll it's tires and pivot it's rear end sideways...

... at 90 mph!

-I'm an airline Captain by trade, and have years and years of experience with DHC-8's, Shorts SD3-60's, and Boeing B727's and I have had hours and hours of classroom and simulator training in each one.

But NOT ONE HOUR of training or simulator in the "P-928"....

Think about that for a minute...folks, we aren't driving race cars. And we are not driving [generally] within the safe confines of a racetrack. And how many of you have honestly spent the $1400-3000 for real drivers training?

The point is...these cars are fun and fun to work on, but remember that with this particular car you've a tiger by the tail. Be safe...don't let it bite you.

n~

Joe R

Well like I said last week. My nieghbors Cobra was cool but nowhere near the level of handling performance of my 928. I would definately not spend the money on such a car. Especially since I could by a mint GTS for the same price.
My typing is terrible tonight as I have my 2 year old son sleeping on my shoulder. Gotta know what really counts in life <img src="graemlins/nono.gif" border="0" alt="[nono]" />

dr bob

Did a DE at Willow a dozen years ago, riding as instructor in a genuine Cobra. We slid a long way after we went into 9 a little hot, backed across the pit straight towards the parking lot and finally stopped at a safety berm a couple hundred feet back. We didn't roll but there were two of us wrestling for space under the cowl. I swore at the time that I would NEVER ride in one of those again.

The kit-car guys claim handling that's improved over the original (not too tough...) but for the most part those things are made to look cool at the Burger King and are not performance cars. Home builders tend to leave out little detail stuff, substitute hardware-store bolts into critical suspension spots, etc. Anybody whoa has done tech at PCA or SCCA events has seen this.

After driving the Lotus cars (23, 46, 54, 72) for a lot of years, and replacing stuff at an incredible pace during those years, I have a great appreciation for the strength and design of the 928. Folks that find the handling a little heavy at 40 are the same folks that rave about the 100+ experience. No kit car will manage that.

Tough lesson when you lose a life, even when it's not your own. We are pretty fragile, ya know.

John.

I saw a few of these at the Cincinnati car show last weekend. Superformance is located here in Ross, Ohio, just north of Cincinnati. There isn't much to those cars. I would hate to get hit from the side in one of them.........that would not be pretty. Nonetheless, their Cobras are some of the best in the aftermarket industry. The quality is excellent.

I'll stick with a car with a roof myself. I actually considered purchasing a 550 spyder replica a few years back, but for $20,000 it would have been a very poor investment.