[What'saCobra?]

Fair 'nuff and well said at that. No need to swear, though.

Don't forget that we now have stroker aly FORD small blocks safely pushing 7000rpm and 7 liters, all steel internals. Who needs the extra 200#'s?

We haven't even talked about the increased polar moment (ne: polar inertia) caused by the extra nose poundage of an FE (which was actually pretty light for its day compared to the competition). This resistance to heading change and propensity to keep rotating is tres importante on a mickey mouse course. And on the street when that New England stoned wall is dead ahead.

When the unwary ask about my Chevy engine (7 liter Traco, Rocket block, 730hp , w/Lucas/Kinsler injection), i replied it's "only a sb." But, after all, stealth is even more fun in the end. Trounce them first, talk afterwards.

i had so many obnoxious challengers with the ZR-1 on the street, i had the model emblems removed from the dealership during the first week. VERY few people knew how to find one without those signals (the ZR still had the roof brake lights, even though it had the new rear lights.) And i had more fun, when i chose to run, particularly against a few Cob Kits. Surprise! Stealth, man. More stealthy than any Cobra today.

The best stealth, of course, was in the day (middle 60's) with a street Cobra, 2434, dressed in dark BRG, tan seats, chrome wire wheels, hot engine bits and Firestone Indy Rains and looking sort of like a slightly leaner Austin Healey and hunting unsuspecting Corvettes. Man, did i suck them in and out my pipes! No one understood how quick they were. i used to sneak up on fast bikes scraping pegs in the turns and out drag them out of the turns (i was afraid to pass them, thinking they might lay down and be collected by my Ben-Hur knockoffs. Bikers are even more notoriously unskilled at the limit than 'Vette and kit drivers.)

Stealth, man. Less tickets, less grief, more usable power, less fuel/tire/rim/heat/brake/money/neighbor/Gestapo and family support problems. Definitely more cool, understated, cautious, conservative, high contented, low-profiled, historic outside, state-of-the-art inside, driven to the limit and away from the crowd, if you can say that about any Cobra...

You folks are going to think i LIKE these things, for pete's sake.

For those that are unwilling to see the obvious point of my line, i think current regulatory events, costs and true driving needs point further away from as many BB's in the future. But, not zero. It also points towards more nitches in the already nitched market, like most premium-priced products and services. Becoming the lowest cost producer means more units with common cores (read: Chassis). Not being the least cost producer (note, i have said nothing about price, just cost) means gonzo. Always. The only remaining variable is when.

But, i may be wrong.