Superformance

Sixty super cars like the Shelby Daytona Coupe were built to race rather than pose.  This calm tailed Coupe version of the legendary Cobra was created to take on Ferrari’s finest at Le Mans. Only 6 of the road racers were ever built.  And all are too precious and too compromised to be used on the road. But now there’s a modern interpretation.  It’s a car that’s reunited those responsible for designing and developing those awesome 60’s racers.

Tiff Needle: Now you probably know that I’m not very keen on old cars. They’re usually uncomfortable, they don’t handle very well, they’ve got rubbish brakes, and they leak. But there was one old design I was willing to travel 6,000 miles to have a go in.

James Martell, publisher of the KitCarConnection.com spends some time at the Roush Performance booth at SEMA 2007 in Las Vegas and captures some great shots of a Ford GT40 Gulf replica from Superformance.

This special car is a replica of the GT40 that won both the 1968 and 1969 Le Mans 24 hour races and is powered by 550 horsepower Roush 427 fuel injected engine.

The AC Cobra was an awesome race car.  But it had a weakness at fast flat out circuits.  The problem was a lack of aerodynamics. Enter 23 year old engineer Peter Brock who ripped off the Cobra body and slipped on a new curvy shell.  Instantly the car was 30 miles per hour faster and it took victory from Ferrari at Le Mans.

Only six originals were ever built so of course now they’re worth millions.  But there is a cheaper alternative.  If you’ve got 85,000 pounds around in a biscuit barrel somewhere you can buy one of these.  A Superformance Le Mans Coupe.

The inspiration for the Superformance SPF Coupe is the 1965 Daytona Coupe.  The Daytona, the only American-made car to win the World Manufacturer’s Championship for Grand Touring Racecars, quickly became revered for its ability to reach racing speeds of 200MPH.

The Superformance SPF Coupe is licensed by Carroll Shelby and is eligible for SAAC registry.

Engineering

Inspired by the Ford GT40, the Superformance GT40 is licensed by SAFIR GT40 Spares LLC as a continuation GT40, and is eligible for official GT40 registry.

The Superformance GT40 chassis and steel roof spider was built from Ford Advanced Vehicles, LLC blueprints.  And like all Superformance component vehicles, the GT40 is sold as a complete roller sans engine and transaxle.

Engineering

Two-thirds of the Superformance GT40 parts are interchangeable with those of the original Ford GT40, including its single shell chassis.  It features a pressed steel roof, and offers the choice of left or right-hand drives.

Founded in 1995 by Jim Price of Hi-Tech Automotive as Superformance International, Superformance became a privately-owned car manufacturer in 2005 when Hi-Tech Automotive transferred ownership of Superformance International to the Hillbank Automotive Group, owned by Lance Stander.  Mr. Stander is now Chief Executive Officer of Superformance.