| E.R.A.
has
an enviable reputation. Our cars have been tested by all the
major
publications: Car and Driver, Road and Track, Motor Trend,
Automobile,
Hot Rod, and even Popular Mechanics. Why?
Because it is
more than a kit, it's a real
(good) car.
Customer-built E.R.A. cars have won the "BEST
COBRA REPLICA" competition at the
annual
Shelby
American meet in sixteen of
the last
seventeen years! |
 | Congratulations
to Joe
Speziale (#385 427) and Bruce Clark
(# 2040 ERA GT
) on their wins
at the 2000 SAAC! |
| And
Jeff Burgy's 289 wins in '99 and
20001! |
Kit car
manufacturers
were polled by
Petersen's Kit Car Magazine. "
|
|
 | Kit
car manufacturers were
polled by Peterson's Kit Car Magazine. "Other than
your own car, who
makes the best Cobra replica, and Why?" The most frequent answer:
"E.R.A.
- OVERALL
QUALITY" |
| "In
every test we put it
through Roy Allen's
427 E.R.A. showed its tail to the - everybody
genuflect! - Ferrari
F40 (price $395,120.)"
E.R.A. TEST RESULTS: "0-60 MPH" - 1st @ 3.3 seconds,
"roadholding, 200ft
skid pad, g" - 1st @ 1.05g, "braking 70-0" - 2nd @ 176ft,
"maneuverability,
1000ft slalom - 2nd @ 66.8mph.
| Ed.
Note:
The E.R.A.
was the only car tested with a big block engine, giving away about 200
pounds
to the competition. The only car that beat the E.R.A. in the slalom was
a
custom, single purpose auto-crosser with super-quick steering and 17"
diameter
wheels, 2" bigger and 3" wider than the E.R.A.. Its extremely low
profile
tires had a competitive advantage over the more conventional (and
original)
tires on the E.R.A. The E.R.A., was a customer built street car, with
no
modifications to the standard kit other than slightly stiffer springs. |
| 
Car and Driver magazine,
Dec., 1991
(Comparison test between an E.R.A. and three of our competitors)
|
Kit
Car Illustrated, Dec., 1991 annual
"Run & Gun" competition |
"At the
end of the day,
Stacey Pendergast had
himself four trophies.
He had won the Class A plaque in the autocross: he had the Class A
(bracket)
honors; he had the Top Dog Drag Strip trophy, and by combining his
second
in the autocross with his first-place time in the drag strip, he had a
total
of three points to give him the Top Dog Overall award.
The fact that the
A bracket winner, runner up and
semifinalist (Bob Newman) were all driving E.R.A. Cobras speaks very
highly
of those cars." |
See
also the1994
Cobras quarterly with the
results of the 1994 Run and Gun. Great reading! Fifty six
cars entered
this event. While many companies sent specially prepared vehicles, (and
in
some cases hired professional drivers) E.R.A. lets our customers show
how
good an E.R.A. is. They rarely disappoint us!
| "...the
king of the hill in this test was
Bill Thornton's E.R.A.
replica Cobra.
This bruiser managed 100 MPH in second gear, while scorching the entire
trip
from 0-100-0 in only 12.07 seconds! Excellent braking power helped the
Cobra
win this contest." |
Hot
Rod magazine, Nov. 1987 "MPH Shootout
0-100-0" |
"You
should be very proud of the performance of your Cobra replica. An
average
of 0.97G on full skid depth Comp T/A 50 series tires is truly an
accomplishment
for a streetable vehicle". BF
Goodrich tire
testing, June 1984, quoting from a letter accompanying test
results
On the same skid pad the then new Corvette with 16" wheels and
the latest
Goodyear Gatorbacks recorded a high of only 0.90G.
Fax:
January
10, 2007 | Peter,
I've had my car (#732) a month now and have gone over it in detail: the
quality is excellent. Better than that though, in hindsight
there
is not a single thing that I would have changed on it. Not
even a
small item; it's perfect.
Pat
T. | From
Club
Cobra |
speed220mph
Senior Club Cobra Member
<ERA>,
I've got to give all of you at ERA credit for the
great job you've done and
are doing with the cars. I haven't driven the car at 100% yet, but
close.
The car seems very neutral with no surprising transients except for
that
good old throttle-induced oversteer provided by the 427. Mid Ohio would
be
a good track for going all out, but maybe I'll get it up to VIR, which
should
also be good. Need some good runoff areas just in case.
One of the best compliments the car has ever gotten
was from an original
Cobra owner, a 428 street version. I drove his to check out a chassis
problem,
which seemed to be something loose in the rear suspension. The car felt
unsettled
at about 60 mph and higher speeds. To return the favor I let him drive
my
ERA. His response was, "That's the best Cobra I've ever driven." He's
owned
more than one original, one being a small block which he currently owns
and
drives frequently.
Tom |
Turk
Location: Vacaville, CA
Posts: 4274
Cobra Make & Engine: Second hand CSX Cobra
Jwheaton,
ERA does and has come with added quality for years
that others only hope
to match.
The CAV car may not be ERA quality but neither is
SPF.
That is not to say the other cars fail the quality
test. Just that ERA is
and has been in a different league for years.
TURK |
"I am in CT, near
ERA's factory. People have told me that ERA
makes the best
kit, and a pal has a 427 that rides as smooth as my 525 Bimmer."
Backstay |
Motor
Trend magazine, January 1983, in
which they compare the E.R.A., Contemporary, Butler and Aurora Cobra
replicas.
| "Its
all around
performance also impressed us. Toss in the
completeness of the
kit and the fact that this is the most exacting duplicate of a 427
Cobra,
and you have found what we suspect to be the best
choice for a serious replica Cobra builder." |
|