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Supercar Renaissance
The dawn of a new generation of performance cars has arrived, with the Monza Mirage and Cobra II Starga leading the way.
by Steve Thompson
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It seemed like they were gone for good. Born in the wild, optimistic days of the earyl '60s, the supercars seemed to reach their zenith of popularity and power at the turn of the decade, and then swiftly faded, to be replaced with vans, the fuel crunch and clean air. No more Superbirds, no more Boss 302s, no more L88 Stingrays.
Performance was dead, at least in the Motor City.
Enter Jack Purcell, Jack Juratovic and BORT Inc., the design team that put together the Pontiac L'il Wide Track Astre. Sensing the need for at least a semblance of performance and excitement in domestic cars, BORT focused its attention on the then-new Mustang II and its flaccid sales. What it saw convinced it that resurrecting the Shelby GT350 - at least in looks - would do wonders for the car's sales.
There were plenty of skeptics, but only in the beginning. A year after asles of the Cobra II started, the projected 5000 cars rolled out the door of the Ford dealers had become an astounding 35,000 and the demand was climbing. Many in Detroit were flabergasted.
It had happened before, though, when Jim Wangers put together the original GTO package for Pontiac; PMD had expected to sell 5000 of those too, and as the first wild year ground down, they had sold 55,000. The GTO ushered in the first supercar era, and the Cobra II did the same for the second, but there are significant differences between the two.
The first-generation supercars were essentially stripped sedans and coupes filled to overflowing with huge, powerful V-8 engines and little else. Their chassis were weak and their brakes were almost nonexistent, but neither drawback bothered their buyers, who leaned heavily toward drag racing as their parent sport. And although there were eventually quite a few decent-handling supercars, most retained the big engine/little suspension formula.
Today's emerging supercars are altogether different. Their engines will be smaller, more fuel efficient and cleaner, and their underpinnings feature disc brakes, better steering, better springing and vastly improved tires. They will be better-balanced and easier to drive than the old supercars, because their models in racing come not from the drag strip, but from the road course.
BORT's latest design, the Monza Mirage, shows this much better than the Cobra II, which, because it was the first of its kind, is more dated. The model for the Mirage was the original Chevy Monza racer, and the replica that follows its style faithfully.
But the importance of these cars lies not so much in what they are now but in what they will become when the buyers of America start fiddling with them, and also in what they mean to Detroit. With the kind of success the Cobra II has had, and the certain success of the slippery Monza Mirage, the message to the planners in Motor city will be unmistakable: Performance is back.
Supercar Renaissance: Cobra II Starga
Where the Monza Mirage is sleek, the Mustang II Cobra II is muscular-looking. In the classic Chevy vs. Ford battle the two cars have been squared off by their designers into opposite styling corners, and when they're modified like the Mirage and Cobra, you can expect sparks to be struck at any gathering of enthusiasts.
Whichever car you think looks better, there is no doubt that the Cobra II is aggressive. And for '77, Ford dealers are adding an option to the Cobra II package that makes it even more worthwhile: the hatchroof, or T-top.
Built right now for Ford by the American Sunroof Corporation, the reflectorized removable hatches will add $750 to the cost of your Cobra II package, which currently lists at around $550. Although previously produced for Ford by the Detroit-based Motortown Corp. (the original design work was done by BORT), the Cobra II is now being assembled by the Ford factory in-house. And Ford officials say that soon the hatch roofs will be done by Ford as well, but at this time American Sunroof is the supplier. (Next year, according to AS personnel, they will modify "well over" 100,000 cars for their sunroofs.)
The effect of the opened-up top on the Cobra II is as dramatic as on other cars similarly equipped. Having the sky overhead makes the car much more enjoyable to dirve at any time, and especially when you're working it hard. With the windows rolled up, there is little buffeting of the passengers, indicating a good job of aerodynamic planning on Ford's part.
The hatches are easy to remove, since there is only one latch to work, and both store neatly behind the rear seatback. the prototype hatches we had on our Cobra didn't fit especially well, but we are assured that following production-line assembly it will improve. Also not shown on our car is the top trim, which includes a band across the roof from window to window bordered by two narrow chrome strips. The designation "Starga" will appear in script on Mustang II fastbacks ordered with the hatches, but as yet there is no final designation for the kitted Cobra IIs, although "King Cobra" may be considered.
With the demise of convertibles in American car lines, the T-top feature becomes more and more attractive, even at its fairly steep price, and what the cutouts do for the impact of the Cobra II is obvious just by looking at the pictures. We noted in our road test of the Cobra II (RT, March 1976) that it outpointed a Ferrari Dino in stare pers day, and we're pretty sure that the Starga Cobra would put the standard car on the trailer by as much again. It was simply not possible to drive the car anywhere without fending off a constant stream of admirers.
So if you are the shy, retiring, introspective type who doesn't like attention, stay away from the Cobra Starga.
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