Maserati vs M3 vs......2003 SVT Cobra?

[Cobra'03]

Yup, there it is, in the new R&T (Yellow Ferrari 360 on cover - what a beautiful car that is).

They were comparing hi-perf Grand Touring cars (i.e. with a seat in back). They were (pleasantly) surprised how good the Cobra was - of course it beat the pants off the M3, and clipped the nearly six-figure Maserati as well! It's braking was competitive.

Ultimately, of course, it lacked the "polish" (pah lish, not pole ish) od the others - well for that kind of dough, I will poilish my own car (with Zaino no less).

Good read - and the Ferrari 360 is worth the price of admission, as is the story of Dan Gurney's 1967 GP win at Spa, the first of an American driver in an American car since 1921. I assume at least some of you like road racing as opposed to drags, right?

 

[JKD COBRA]

I love road racing. My favorite series used to be the Speedvision World Challenge. Terry borchellor in the blue Saleen SR really dominated for the few races that he was in. I don't know if I like the Maserati or not. I wish they would cover the Panoz, it comes with the 4.6L cobra motor. I wonder if the 2003-up Panoz will have our supercharged motor?

 

[Blades]

Originally posted by Cobra'03
Yup, there it is, in the new R&T (Yellow Ferrari 360 on cover - what a beautiful car that is).

They were comparing hi-perf Grand Touring cars (i.e. with a seat in back). They were (pleasantly) surprised how good the Cobra was - of course it beat the pants off the M3, and clipped the nearly six-figure Maserati as well! It's braking was competitive.

Ultimately, of course, it lacked the "polish" (pah lish, not pole ish) od the others - well for that kind of dough, I will poilish my own car (with Zaino no less).

Good read - and the Ferrari 360 is worth the price of admission, as is the story of Dan Gurney's 1967 GP win at Spa, the first of an American driver in an American car since 1921. I assume at least some of you like road racing as opposed to drags, right?

so who got first place? thanks for the heads up btw





edit:

Originally posted by KevinJKD
I love road racing. My favorite series used to be the Speedvision World Challenge. Terry borchellor in the blue Saleen SR really dominated for the few races that he was in. I don't know if I like the Maserati or not. I wish they would cover the Panoz, it comes with the 4.6L cobra motor. I wonder if the 2003-up Panoz will have our supercharged motor?

it sure will! I also heard it will be lighter!

 

[CobraTone]

Damn! The issue is at my house and I'm at school, I'll have to get mom to mail it to me!

 

[Cobra'03]

Of course the M3 won.

 

[CobraTone]

M3....Blah.:sleeping:

 

[03 Red Cobra]

Originally posted by Cobra'03
Yup, there it is, in the new R&T (Yellow Ferrari 360 on cover - what a beautiful car that is).

They were comparing hi-perf Grand Touring cars (i.e. with a seat in back). They were (pleasantly) surprised how good the Cobra was - of course it beat the pants off the M3, and clipped the nearly six-figure Maserati as well! It's braking was competitive.

Ultimately, of course, it lacked the "polish" (pah lish, not pole ish) od the others - well for that kind of dough, I will poilish my own car (with Zaino no less).

Good read - and the Ferrari 360 is worth the price of admission, as is the story of Dan Gurney's 1967 GP win at Spa, the first of an American driver in an American car since 1921. I assume at least some of you like road racing as opposed to drags, right?

You are getting your magazines mixed up. The 3 car comparo is in the latest Motor Trend which everyone knows they only like Beammers.

 

[Cobra'03]

Yup, caught my error last night. It is MT, not R&T - the rest in correct though.

 

[JKD COBRA]

blades-- are you serious? That would be very cool, the 2 seater panoz would be pretty quick with the supercharged 4.6L. Is there anywhere I can find some information on it?

 

[NetworkingGuru]

I like road racing, but I really like Rally. Really fast speeds on closed off real roads? :thumbsup: It just sucks that WRC is all about tiny little cars. :cuss:

 

[Venom Lover]

Who cares which car the editors "declared" to be the victor? I recall an article that pitted the Z06 against the M3, and even though the M3 lost in every single performance category, the M3 was declared the winner because it has 4 seats. I mean come on, they didn't need to do a bunch of acceleration and braking tests if they knew the only criterion that mattered was how many seats the car has.

You decide which car won based on performance -- here are the numbers (oh, just for amusement, I've thrown in the numbers for the Z06 which was stacked up against the SRT Viper on p.53 of the same issue of MT):

..................M3.................Cobra..............Maserati............Z06
0-60...........5.04..............4.69.................4.65..................4.60
0-100.........12.41............10.62...............11.32................10.27
1/4 [email protected]@[email protected]@114.3
0-100-0......16.94............15.44...............16.06................14.65
60-0............113...............120..................120...................108
Slalom mph..66.6..............64.3.................66.2..................66.7

Based on performance alone, the Cobra looks great, especially given the huge price differential between these cars. Yeah, of course the M3 is more refined, the Maserati is more exotic, blah blah blah.

Also, look how well the Cobra fares against the Z06!

 

[Blue03Cobra]

Originally posted by Venom Lover
Yeah, of course the M3 is more refined

It'd better be for almost $21K more (PAT: Cobra, 34,750; M3, 55,695)

My favorite quotes (by an obviously biased, to the Bimmer and Maserati, writer), about the Cobra:

To call the Cobra's acceleration a rush would be an understatement of huge proportions.

Overall, it's well controlled, a dream to drive through a corner, and good fun to steer using nothing more than the throttle.

The domestic buyer who wants a musclecar that handles will enjoy it immensely, and its bang-for-buck quotient is impressive.

 

[LogiWorld123]

I was surprised to see a Cobra alongside a Mas/M3.

But really, in all practicality, the M3 was/is a good choice. Jack of all trades; master at none. Same with my Contour.

 

[Blades]

Originally posted by KevinJKD
blades-- are you serious? That would be very cool, the 2 seater panoz would be pretty quick with the supercharged 4.6L. Is there anywhere I can find some information on it?

yep. I think you could try calling panoz first and probably get put on a waiting list that would make our SVT waiting list look like a McDonalds line. But good luck. Expect markup..

 

[genus5033]

I would MUCH rather have seen it in the article compared with the Z06 and the Viper. Personally, I thought it would have been a MUCH better fit. Just put the speedster cover on a vert and voila! A TWO seater for comparison!!:burnout:

 

[03blackvert]

Regardless of how it performs, the Cobra is keeping very good company. Kudos to ford for that.

If you read this article, with the Z06/Viper article from the same test people I take away the following things:

* The Cobra can compete with a stock Viper with a few bolt ons.

* The Cobra's breaks, while good by any other standard do not live up to the standards set in this select group.

* The Cobra is by far, let me repete, by far, the best price/performance car in either article.

Power is easy, we can beat a stock viper. How do those of us who like the road course get more cornering G's, and more stop?

 

[Venom Lover]

Power is easy, we can beat a stock viper. How do those of us who like the road course get more cornering G's, and more stop?

You can beat a stock Viper on the dyno with chip/pulley (and yes, it will take chip & pulley - my '97 GTS dyno'd at 425 rwhp bone stock). But that power is nowhere near as usable as the Viper's due to the difference in suspension and contact patch. Sorry, but stock Vipers pull low 12's and upper 11's on the stock Michelins. Cobras with chip/pulley are typically in the upper-12's, maybe mid-12's, unless you put on some ET streets or DRs.

Even worse is the issue of getting more cornering G's. Anyway, no worries because the Viper costs 2 times as much as the Cobra, so for the price, we're doing pretty well with the Cobra.

As for more stop -- I think the Cobra brakes are quite comparable compared to my stock Viper brakes. Also, this check out C&D: Viper 70-0: 186 ft vs. Cobra 70-0: 182 ft. :thumbsup:

 

[03DOHC]

Originally posted by Venom Lover
You can beat a stock Viper on the dyno with chip/pulley (and yes, it will take chip & pulley - my '97 GTS dyno'd at 425 rwhp bone stock). But that power is nowhere near as usable as the Viper's due to the difference in suspension and contact patch. Sorry, but stock Vipers pull low 12's and upper 11's on the stock Michelins. Cobras with chip/pulley are typically in the upper-12's, maybe mid-12's, unless you put on some ET streets or DRs.

Even worse is the issue of getting more cornering G's. Anyway, no worries because the Viper costs 2 times as much as the Cobra, so for the price, we're doing pretty well with the Cobra.

As for more stop -- I think the Cobra brakes are quite comparable compared to my stock Viper brakes. Also, this check out C&D: Viper 70-0: 186 ft vs. Cobra 70-0: 182 ft. :thumbsup:

I don't have a Viper, but I bet you I can do better than a high 12 if I put a chip and pulley on my car.

 

[sonic cobra]

for a guy like me, who's last mustang was a 1965, 289 4 speed purchased new, the fact that these cars are even in the same magazines with the mas and bmw is incredible No wonder we all feel so passionate about these cars. I can't wait to get my sonic blue coupe!!

 

[jtfx6552]

Originally posted by Venom Lover
You can beat a stock Viper on the dyno with chip/pulley (and yes, it will take chip & pulley - my '97 GTS dyno'd at 425 rwhp bone stock). But that power is nowhere near as usable as the Viper's due to the difference in suspension and contact patch. Sorry, but stock Vipers pull low 12's and upper 11's on the stock Michelins. Cobras with chip/pulley are typically in the upper-12's, maybe mid-12's, unless you put on some ET streets or DRs.

I'll take on a stock Viper anywhere.

[email protected] at Atco,
[email protected] ar bowling green

Pulley, Amazon Racing Chip and Borla cat back, both places on the stock f1's.

JT