I don't know if I have mentioned that a friend from high school (class of '79) has a Factory Five Cobra. It's a Mk 3 (we will be building a Mk 4) so there are subtle and not so subtle differences between the two, but not enough to be starkly different. Matt did me huge favor by driving up from Cincy so I could at least have a ride in his Cobra. This is yet another similarity between the FF kit car and the Van's RV-12 (it's a kit built airplane that is very similar to the Cobra in many ways) that I built a decade ago.
To be honest, I want to build this car because I am hankering to do another significant project. The fact that I will also have a very nice car when its all said and done is a very thick layer of goodness on top of the compelling assembly of the kit.
As mentioned previously (I think) there are a whole lot of options to decide on. That is a departure from the RV-12 - that kit included everything but the fuel and oil. At the time that I was building, there were no options to decide on. It's a bit different these days, but the options available now are still limited. Conversely, the Cobra has dozens and dozens of options to choose from, and that's before you even take a look at the multitudinous options available from 3rd party vendors.
Matt describes his build as a "low-budget" build, but for the life of me I can't see what's missing. Perhaps the engine, which is a lowly (sarcasm) 5.0 liter Ford engine. Having ridden in it, I can't see how its deficient. That said, I still have a lot (a WHOLE lot) to learn.
Matt knows a guy that is the go-to guy when it comes to FF Cobras, at least in Central Ohio. We drove down south or half an hour or so (on very nice twisty and/or rural roads). That was just about enough time to get a feel for what it's like to ride in an open (as opposed to convertible) car. Notably, Matt has installed actual racing seats and big, fat Simpson five-point harnesses - I have five-point harnesses in the airplane, but they are nowhere near the beefy straps from Simpson.
