Well, As I see it. The best safety device in any car is you. It does not matter how much horsepower, traction or handling you have. I have been racing Vettes for the last five years (We'll get to why I'm going Cobra in a minute). GM did a great job building in safety into the car, however, it never ceases to amaze me when someone crashes their Vette on a local road and gets hurt. Cobras also fall into this group. Remember also, If you hurt or kill someone else, you have to live with that the rest of your life. It's one thing to be on a course or autocross and have a mishap. It is completely different on the street. Although I am not a follower of the "You should drive very safe and friendly car crowd", I do agree we should drive with our heads. Insurance prices do not only go up because of accidents. When you pull a nice smokey burn-out in the local taco bell parking lot and get a ticket, you contribute to every motorheads insurance rate. Secondly, we do not want to draw attention to our selves from the environmentilist groups. There are still plenty of places around for us to have a blast. Check out your local drag strip or SCCA Club. Almost done preaching I promise. As for crash safety of a Cobra being hit by another car, Well, regardless of the manufactures data or belief, you are not safe. You are driving a framed car without crumple zones, meaning your body will feel the full force of impact even if you are not physically hit. A side impact from a large SUV would be devastating. You do not have air bags either. My advice is to drive with the same caution a motorcycle driver would use. Now, not to scare anyone off. I myself am going to build a Cobra kit this spring. After years of driving Corvettes I would like a change. I love Cobras and always have. Does it scare me to drive one? No. I try to drive as safe as I can. If I get hit by a Semi driver who's drunk....well....I don't have control over that. As far as built in safety I am going with a good set of well anchored harnesses, a fire suppression system, fuel cell and a electrical shut off switch. Other than those things not much I can do. I do suggest taking a high performance driving course if you can. This may help you on the road more than you can imagine. Be Safe.
--Mike
