Right up front, I'll say I like the new design, a lot actually. I don't like Buzz's design above, seems droopy nosed, and droopy butt...sort of a blue bloodhound look. Also, I don't agree with opinions that think longer is better, that's just a Corvette or Viper then. The Cobra has always been short, wide, and curvy too, yes, but mainly short and wide. I personally think, and everyone is certainly entitled to disagree with me, that the proportions of the new design are very very close to right on, and the angularity? I like it. I like the back, the front is ok, I like the sides even. Screw the sidepipes, those went out with Disco, and the original Street Cobra didn't have them anyway. I especially like that there is room in the engine bay for a V10. Though I'm not wedded to needing a V10 there.
Anyway...
Nobody has mentioned pricing.
According to a story in today's paper, Ford is looking at pricing it "under $100K". Pretty wide range. Competition? Audi TT - mid to high 30's. Nissan 350Z - high 20's. Kirkham - 60's. What would a Kirkham cost without the hand-formed aluminum body, and other labor-intensive processes? Would $40K be an unreasonable number? So a reasonable person might expect a fair price to be $40K for the new Ford.
So what do you think Ford will price it at?
A) $40K because that'll place it in the thick of things as far as its competitors?
B) $60K because that'll more closely match the price, if not the trim of the Corvette?
C) $80K because that'll more closely match the price of the Viper, which it is basically a Ford iteration of?
D) $95K because that's what Ford thinks the market will bear and will allow it to singlehandedly rescue the company from financial ruin by generating massive profits per vehicle.
I bet on D. Why. Because Ford is traditionally lazy. Sure, Ford Sr. was into mass production and keeping the assembly lines running all day, every day. But his spawn were raised in comfort and luxury. Servants at their beck and call. Their take on production is why so much? It just wears out the equipment faster and they'll need to replace it quicker. So they have focused on products like Aston Martin and Jaguar where a few cars produced each year can fund whole divisions of management. Just charge a lot per car, make a few, and call it a day. Ford lacks passion and drive. Oh sure, there're a few hotheads in the ranks, but Ford has become adept at letting them waste their energies in the back corners of the plants and offices. Ford hasn't shown any passion since Enzo told them to take a flying leap, and suddenly it was "bring me Enzo's head on a platter!" Well they did that. And once the anger-fueled passion was satiated, it was the 70's and back to the passionless products for the great unwashed masses. "If we must…" Meanwhile, Enzo, and his company kept right on producing cars full of passion that are still selling nicely, thank you very much. Now Ford has a choice again: make a lot on a few cars, or make not-so-much on a few-more-than-a-few-cars.
If they do charge 95K though, I'll be expecting a bit more content. Some popup rollbars in case of rollover would be nice ala' Mercedes (and this explains the thick windshield frame that someone was not liking). Some sort of provision for a roof would be nice. Air bags? Real seatbelts (with the 5th strap), paddle shifters (it is a modern race car isn't it?), actually, for $95 grand, there better be a heck of a lot more content or I'd feel obligated to lodge rape charges on behalf of the first purchaser. I mean, it's not like a Viper platform that was custom and unique from day one. The new Cobra is based on the GT's frame pieces which have already had their design/production costs amortizied into the GT's price. It's using minimal instrumentation, hardware, trim. I would think most of the costs are absorbed already by other product lines or shouldn't be all that expensive to begin with. But then, I think Ford wasted billions on developing the modular engine family when for 10% of the cost it could have just refined the FE, so what do I know.
The car itself is almost a moot point. It's obviously a Cobra. It has Shelby's name associated with it, if not actually on it. Whatever it looks like in its final form, I'm sure there will be a market for it. Whether a bunch of old geezers like it or not doesn't matter, because, quite frankly, they probably won't be a big part of the market. Lets face it, they're into the original Cobras, and there're plenty of suppliers of those in all price ranges. Ford needs to look to the audience currently in the market for one of the new Cobra's competitors, not just the Corvette/Viper market, but the Audi TT, the Nissan 350Z, the new Volkswagen R (
Volks R ), and the Porshe Boxster market. What do those people want? Well, the Audi TT, the Corvette, and the Nissan 350Z are selling well. Fairly priced and attractive looking to that market. The Viper not so much in volume, but it is quite frankly, priced very high. Same with the Porshe (with some reliability and other issues). Those are the people Ford needs to identify and listen to as far as what they'd like the new Cobra to look like, and perform like. Not 'original' Cobra afficianados.
And what of the input from 'original' lovers? Self-serving? What would happen to the replica market if Ford suddenly started producing a REAL Cobra for $40K? With a factory warrantly and support? With more HP than the original, continuation or most replicas? And SAAC recognition?
My opinion, build it. Price it in the low 30's. Use the 4.6l DOHC engine if necessary to hit that price point. It's only 3,000 lbs, finally a vehicle that the little DOHC could shine in. Offer a blower option or the V10 as some Jet or Dragon or JetDragon option, sort of a Z06 Cobra. Produce more than a few. Get them out on the streets representing for Ford, unlike the GT which'll all be locked up in gated compounds, never to be seen.
Build it, price it fairly. Better to see it on the roads than under some sheet in a back warehouse.