Billet Aluminum Cobra

Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle, commissioned Kirkham Motorsports build the ultimate, cost is no object, roadster. Spanning the 2 1/2 years between idea and completion, this book reveals the secrets of the ultimate car.

http://www.kirkhammotorsports.com/book_aoe/

Standard Aluminum Body


Copper Body

Wow, that guy must own an aluminum factory!

THAT is NUTZ......I have not read the whole thing, but going to all that crap over a steering rack alone???

My ex FIL is a EE, and he and I would get involved in some project, and so the comments were, HE was a lot more obsessive and I was more compulsive.....but we shared that mental disorder.....

but those guys make our worst attributes seem mild.....:tomato::rofl:

Insane...insane..droooooolllllll

The only thing I don't like is the engine, it needs a billet block. Also, I think a GT40 body would blend better with all the awesome CNC stuff.

The bodies Kirkham makes are done in Poland. An old Mig plant needed work and this is what they came up with.

Ralphy said:

The bodies Kirkham makes are done in Poland. An old Mig plant needed work and this is what they came up with.

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They did a great job :thumbs:

with the money Ellison has you would think he would have bought a real Cobra.

Am I misunderstanding the sway bar? It looks like it just bends a short bar, rather than twisting (in torsion) as I'm used to.

What's the story here?

Second question: What's the integrity of the frame rails in the event of a frontal collision? Will the framerails bend, or does all this milled billet stuff just snap?

There are app. 1,000 real historic Cobras. But only one of what he has. If I were to have a new car built, with pockets full. I would buy a Kirkham over a Shelby.

redvetracr said:

with the money Ellison has you would think he would have bought a real Cobra.

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Maybe he keeps the real one in the garage. Hate to wreck the real deal. This one might be a cheaper DD.

69427 said:

Am I misunderstanding the sway bar? It looks like it just bends a short bar, rather than twisting (in torsion) as I'm used to.

What's the story here?

Second question: What's the integrity of the frame rails in the event of a frontal collision? Will the framerails bend, or does all this milled billet stuff just snap?

Click to expand...

Any input on my questions here?

Yes, looks like the sway bar is a spring steel bar, weird setup. Usually with pishrod type susps you see a short hollaw bar between the cams acting just like a normal sway bar

No diea on the billet, they did FEA on it and probably aren't planning on wrecking it. They did mill a lot of windows into it so it might just bend.

What others have told me. After they started the project, they did stress analysis observations on the chassis. They found they could direct stress better by removing more material. So, much of the lack of material is not by accident.

I am looking at the frame rails and thinking they look flexible. Then I noticed how they mount at the ends.

http://www.clubcobra.com/forums/member.php?u=11941