Shelby Cobra has probably the biggest amount of replicas among the cars of all time. One of the reasons why Cobra is causing so much interest is the legendary body style of the original Shelby 427. Even today its outline looks very aggressive and masculine. For many car enthusiasts Cobra is still the most beautiful vehicle in the history of car manufacturing. With its success in the classic 24 hours of Le Mans race and the ability to almost make Enzo Ferrari go insane, Cobra appeared in the beginning of the 60s to become a legend.
The original Cobra is often far beyond the budget of car enthusiasts and that is why a lot of car studios offer its replicas for those who would like to admire the power and beauty of Cobra but pay a more affordable price for it.
However, there are still companies which think Cobra has something to be upgraded. For instance, Weineck - a tuning studio from a small quite town Bad Gandersheim in Germany specialising in designing powerful and fast-accelerating street-legal cars - decided to issue a challenge to all supercar manufacturers and built its own super fancy and extremely powerful Weineck Cobra Limited Edition with an 8-cylinder 13-litre engine producing 1200 hp.
All in all, the studio produced 15 Weineck Cobra supercars and all of them were sold within 24 hours!
Each vehicle was predesigned together with the customer who could choose not only the colour of the car’s exterior or leather interior but also order technical specifications which would answer all his needs whether it concerned driving on public roads or taking part in drag racing competitions. The future owner of the car turned into a “designing engineer” presetting his own requirements for the under-, neutral or oversteer, specifications of the engine and braking system.
By 2005 Klaus Weineck, the company’s leading engineer, had put all his effort in creating Weineck Cobra 780 CUI Limited Edition - an utterly functional, technically excellent and fantastically powerful car with hardly any equals. And moreover, this car is street-legal.
The most remarkable feature of this vehicle is its engine. It was custom-built by Donovan Engineering company. It’s an upgraded American V8 assembled from the best racing parts produced by US manufacturers and parts engineered by Weineck in house in Germany. It allowed reaching 1100 hp. A large air intake on the car’s bonnet serves not only as an eye-catching decoration. Big amounts of air are essential for a 12.9-litre engine fitted with two Holley carburettors.
Such powerful vehicle is built on very light platform. The car weighs only 1000 kg providing it with an incredibly fast start. Weineck Cobra can accelerate from 0 to 300 km/h in 10 seconds and up to 100 km/h in less than 3 seconds.
The sound of its engine is impressive - after turning the ignition key a massive explosion is heard under the bonnet and straight after that the engine changes over to a stable roar of the idle run. When stepping on the acceleration pedal, the motor starts spinning up like a racing engine should. The only difference is that it’s the most powerful engine known so far.
In spite of all its power, Weineck Cobra takes off really gently. All units of this unique car operate consistently from the very first metres of driving. Gear shift is very smooth but one careless acceleration pedal effort might cause wheel spinning.
Even when the engine is running slow (below 4000 rpm) Weineck Cobra is able to accelerate faster than any other supercar at its full capacity. Its motor reaches world record 1760 Nm of torque at 5600 rpm. A torque limiter is set to 8000 rpm; the car’s maximum power of 1100 hp can be achieved at 7000 Nm.
Weineck Cobra lacks any electronic systems which might help the driver - no ASR, ESP, ABS and so on. It is fitted only with seat belts as safety equipment. Soft top can be replaced by a hard one on request.
Weineck Cobra has an effective power to weight ratio of 0.9 kg/hp which requires chassis able to provide safe drive under any conditions. Weineck Cobra is built on a MIG (metal inert gas) welded, self-supporting tubular frame with a 4 inch diameter in order to compensate very high torsion forces created by the engine.
Apart from that, its body is built using vacuum forming method from carbon composite materials. In some of its parts the thickness of carbon fibre layer reaches 1.5 cm! All necessary hinge and joint recesses are provided on the designated parts of doors and bonnet. The body of Weineck Cobra increased in its “hips” area allows making suspension elements almost invisible. Independent suspension, balanced brakeforce distribution and racing Brembo brakes comprise a standard trim for Weineck Cobra.
One can just say: if you are sick and tired of everything, lost your appetite for life and money of the entire world cannot help you, Weineck Cobra 780 CUI Limited Edition is what you need to bring you back. Pistonheads gave the best description of Weineck Cobra driving experience: “The thunder of the big V8 and the ever increasing velocity of the wind past the car and through your hair becomes an all-encompassing, sensory bashing experience. It is like being at the epicentre of a nuclear explosion -- except that you have a good chance of living to tell the tale.”
If you have serious intentions to buy this vehicle, you have a unique chance to purchase it at auction during RM's Paris event which will be held on February 5, 2014. The price starts at €130,000 - 160,000.
Technical specifications:
Engine: Weineck 780 in³ (12.9 litres) V8 with dual Holley carburettors
Power: 1100 hp (820 kw)
Torque: 1760 Nm from 3600 to 7000 rpm
0-100 km/h: 2.9 sec
0-200 km/h: 4.9 sec
0-300 km/h: 10 sec
0-400 km/h: 16.9 sec
Weight: 989 kg
Length: 4200 mm
Width: 1745 mm
Height: 1170 mm
Brakes: Four cross-drilled ventilated Brembo Discs
Transmission: 4-speed manual designed for 2000 Nm of torque
Front and rear independent suspension
Wheelbase: 2286 mm
Standard 255/40 ZR 17 front tires and 315/35 ZR 17 rear tires.
