[turnpike boy]

Bill, you've kind of missed the point.

There is no question the cars can be built somewhat safer - Midstates builds door beams and steel plates into their cars in an attempt to make them more crash-worthy. A noble idea, but carries a huge weight penalty with it and really does alter the overall effect of the car. Certain makes also have added substantial length to the wheelbase to slow down car reaction to driver input. Roll cages can certainly go into them; ABS systems could be added; collapsable columns, air bags, crumple-zone chassis, etc. are all designable and installable - but every one of these mods are alien to the original concept of this particular car. Not even looking at the originality aspect, they also substantially affect the performance and utility of the car.

These cars are meant to move you back to a different time - back to when cars were CARS, not rolling wombs. There is no possibility of question that they are dangerous, inherently so. But you absolutely must acknowledge that it is the operator who has the final say on how it is operated - and that is the final equation on whether or not they are safe.

If you get into a bullring with the bull, you know you have a better-than-even chance of getting hurt. If you go water-buffalo hunting, you know the buff will get even with you if he gets the chance. In other words, if you get into ANY situation that is simply beyond your ability to control it, you're gonna pay. Same with these cars - they will give you almost unbelieveable performance, by the standards of any time period, but extract big demands from YOU at the same time - uncomfortable, noisy, confining, impractical (?), so on and so on. Nobody better EVER get into a Cobra and figure they can drive it in the same vein as, say, a ZO6 Corvette or a Viper or whatever...just too different to be blithely flung down the road.

You need to KNOW what you're going to do, first; you need to KNOW how these cars respond to your inputs; you need to KNOW that inappropriate handling WILL lead to potentially disastrous consequences. In other words, USE YOUR HEAD!! - not your testosterone.