[Wild Thing]

As already pointed out, it's almost impossible to tell which cobra is the best, depending not only on your expectations, but the single car itself. Also the european cobra scene is different from the US - we have Kirkham and Superformance (which have a high reputation over here also), and a lot of other brands, some of them you guys may never have heard of. But by all differences, I think one thing they have in common: they are no high number production series, and if company is putting out 100 - 1000 cars a year, they cant spend the money for testing that is spend for a car that comes out 10 million a year.
As already said, its very important who build them and to take a very close look at the particular car and the owner, esp. when buying a used one. Its also a good idea not to spend more than 70-75% of your budget; you will need the money for fixups and / or things you want to change.

good luck, and keep us informed. One things for sure: you're on the way to a lot of fun, headturns and thumbs up!!!
If people see a porsche, the may say "nice car" and forget it the next moment. If they see a cobra, they might be talking for days about this event.