Something to keep an eye on....www.borncars.com. It's to be sold in component form meaning completed chassis and engine sold separately, kinda like Noble and Ultima to an extent. I know Ultima generally markets their car as a kit but you can buy a completed car from them minus the engine/trans. if you want.

The Ultima is an awesome car to drive but leaves a little to be desired from a styling standpoint.

That 917 kit is pure eye candy!!

Good link Leigon, thanks. The GTM uses a lot of Vette parts with the 930 trans axle, on paper it looks great and it appears that FF is doing their development homework. I am leaning toward the retro 65 coupe because it uses a older V8 witch should make the emissions a lot easer to deal with. From what I have been able to find out so far the emissions package must match the model year of the engine on a kit car. I live in WA we are phasing in CA emissions ( :mad: dont get me started). I found a 351W out of a 70 Cougar that should make a good starting point. Any comments or feed back from the Pelican Brain Trust would be greatly appreciated.

Heres a link to the mk 65 coupe.

http://www.factoryfive.com/table/ffrkits/coupe/coupekit.html

I would sell my 951 to start on this project in a hearbeat...I'd just have to raise some more cash to buy the kit.

The other problem then becomes finding a donor Vette and a G50.

Here's what I don't get.

They make a car that looks great from the front and front 3/4:
http://kitcarmag.com/featuredvehicle...front_left.jpg

But then the rear is a total let down:
http://kitcarmag.com/featuredvehicle...e_gtm+rear.jpg

What is up with that? It almost seems as though they were in a rush and didn't bother to style it.

From their site:

... the shape was analyzed at improvised focus groups. The groups' findings concluded that Factory Five needed to change the car's rear end shape. So another design was created, another full-scale buck made, and another working prototype built. This design was favored by everyone who saw it...

Just the same, I'm sure it would be a helluva car, with a Porsche motor or LS1.

All told, if I was going to build a kit car, I'd want to do a Beck Spyder with 911 power.

This could help out with the parts search, I have had good luck with both.

http://car-part.com/

http://www.ridesafely.com/

Some more sources in this article:
http://www.popularhotrodding.com/enginemasters/articles/chevrolet/smallblock/0503em_ls6/

Nice car, a mix of many current (and past) influences, but it somehow all gells together well.

Looks a little like a Corvette IMO, it's not that bad - has to have a huge diffuser, dictating a significant portion of the shape. They also sell a rear spoiler, if that would pique your interest more.

If anything, the front fenders look too chunky to me, and long nose overhang.

But for 20K + a donor C5. Not bad.

This is the book I was referring to except it's the 4th edition, I think mine is the second edition.

http://www.cobracountry.com/cobrabk.html


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1167800419.jpg

The ricer wing does seem to help the rear.

http://www.factoryfive.com/table/ffr...TM-D-48-SP.jpg

Better than the old tail, me thinks.

http://www.factoryfive.com/images/photos/gtm/3792.jpg
http://www.factoryfive.com/table/ffrkits/GTM/gtmprototype.html

Yep. That car wears a spoiler like a Ferrari or Porsche. It has a definite purpose.

Actually I think I like the look of the old tail better ;) but beauty is in the eye.

Not a bad looking car... sort of GT40ish.

ultimas would be the best but aren't they around a $100k each w/o drivetrain? still worth it, just to kick enzo's ass but...

factory5 cars are well made. tough and robust. 7-8 year old issues aren't really issues. if you want a cobra REPLICA go look elsewhere and pay double. if you want a car that *looks* like a cobra, that's about all you get w/ factory5. they are primarily racecars built to a price point AND MADE TO ACCEPT mustang parts. it will never be a good replica of the original. the fact that there is a raging race class in nasa w/ these cars being run nationwide, should tell you about their reliability and cost of running. it is very much more developed than what's been created 7-8 yrs ago.

edit:
as far as stuffing 911 power into other cars, i'd love a flat-six-powered exige. you would get the grunt, the noise, a lower center of gravity (than stock), and having 6 stacks peeking out the back would be the bollocks :D

You should have jumped on the 2002 Z06 when I offered it up:D

On the Cobra, if you ever see a FF next to a Superperformance, you will skip right past the FF, the SP is that much nicer, and I've driven the SP, man you aren't kidding about selling out, I was ready to after being on the track in one!!

How many donor Vettes can there be out there? I wonder... as this kit gets more press and the orders continue to come in will they have to eventually fab their own parts to complete the car? Off the top of my head I don't know the Vette production numbers but you would think that wrecked examples might be kinda hard to come by.

I always thought way more Vettes are produced each year than Porsches. I would think finding the G50 would be the tough part.

Around here, you can't drive down any street at any time of day or night without seeing a Corvette.

I can probably tell you the model and name of the owner of nearly every Porsche in town...

I haven't been able to find any info on the Born cars except that pic of the right rear quarter on their website. It is a lovely rear quarter. But I am still waiting to learn more.

RE: Born

There's an email link at the bottom of the page. I know a little about the company from a business affiliate of mine...who actually turned me on to the Pelican site....cool site BTW:)

you don't need a donor vette... crate ls1 motors aren't very pricey.