Hey folks! I thought I would share an experience I had during a recent trip to South Africa. While I was there I stopped by the Superformace factory located in Port Elizabeth. In case you are not familiar with them they manufacture complete replicas of the Cobra, Daytona and now the GT. If you watch Dream Car Garage on Speedvision you have seen their cars.
Don’t confuse them with a “kit” car company as their vehicles come completely assembled and all you need to do is add an engine and transmission. If you dig deep into the company history you will discover they make/assemble complete cars for several very well known companies.
The GT they make is a tribute to the original series and is most respects an exact recreation unlike my 2005 GT which is a modern interpretation. The major departures from the original are things like a/c to make the vehicles streetable (but done in a concealed way). I think you can get one for about 70k and they are licensed to use the GT40 name and I think they are also authorized to continue the vins from the original batch end.
While I was there I had the good fortune of meeting the owner Jim Price. I was blown away that he took the time out of his schedule to accompany me on a factory tour (which is spread over several large buildings and probably 100 acres). When we finished the factory tour he invited me into his office and we had a cup of coffee and talked car talk for over an hour. I left with three impressions of Jim; One he is as much a car nut as anyone I ever met, two he knows his stuff inside and out, and third he is a true gentleman.
You should see their factory they make almost everything from scratch. In addition to fabricating frames, body’s, all the systems (fuel,suspension,etc) they make their own dyes and have their own steel press (between one and two stories tall-quite a site). The factory was spotless and I could tell there is a very high dedication to quality throughout the place.
Anyway I think I am going to order one of the GT-40s they make (I’ll tell my wife the 2005 GT was pregnant when I got it). Once I get it up and going I be sure to share some stories of comparisons of the two with the group!!
Don’t confuse them with a “kit” car company as their vehicles come completely assembled and all you need to do is add an engine and transmission. If you dig deep into the company history you will discover they make/assemble complete cars for several very well known companies.
The GT they make is a tribute to the original series and is most respects an exact recreation unlike my 2005 GT which is a modern interpretation. The major departures from the original are things like a/c to make the vehicles streetable (but done in a concealed way). I think you can get one for about 70k and they are licensed to use the GT40 name and I think they are also authorized to continue the vins from the original batch end.
While I was there I had the good fortune of meeting the owner Jim Price. I was blown away that he took the time out of his schedule to accompany me on a factory tour (which is spread over several large buildings and probably 100 acres). When we finished the factory tour he invited me into his office and we had a cup of coffee and talked car talk for over an hour. I left with three impressions of Jim; One he is as much a car nut as anyone I ever met, two he knows his stuff inside and out, and third he is a true gentleman.
You should see their factory they make almost everything from scratch. In addition to fabricating frames, body’s, all the systems (fuel,suspension,etc) they make their own dyes and have their own steel press (between one and two stories tall-quite a site). The factory was spotless and I could tell there is a very high dedication to quality throughout the place.
Anyway I think I am going to order one of the GT-40s they make (I’ll tell my wife the 2005 GT was pregnant when I got it). Once I get it up and going I be sure to share some stories of comparisons of the two with the group!!
