Woody,
Welcome to the forum ... If you want information on Cobras ... you came to the right place. Just to get an idea of different cars that are out there ... check out the cars for sale here on Club Cobra and the cars at Cobra Country ...
http://www.cobracountry.com/home2.html
While you are at Cora Country, and if you want a printed guide ... take a look at Curt Scott's Cobra Buyer's Guide, full of good information.
Like Steve said, the cars you have been driving are more sophisticated than a Cobra. For motors and RPM, it comes down to displacement and how the motor is put together for it's intended purpose. The common recipe is ... more displacement, more power, more RPM ... more money! You will need to decide it you want to go small block or big block .... or a stroker that's a small block form factor with big block displacement ... confused yet ?
Bottom line, do some reading, poke around and ask lots of questions ... there are so many variables when it comes to these cars ... welcome to the party
- Tim