Looking for opinions

[PaulW]

I am currently in the final stages of my Mark4 build (just paint left). I have been driving the car all summer and in total have 5000 miles on it. Now comes the Coupe related question. I may be retiring next year and although we live in Canada my wife is American and I have agreed that I will take her home to Indiana upon retirement. I love my Mark4 but the rub with moving to the US is I can't bring the car with me as it is non-importable. I will defineatly be building another FFR but am seriously thinking about a Coupe this time.

Have any of you out there in Coupe land had a Roadster? I am looking for general impressions of your Coupes and why you may have chosen this model. There is no urgency at this point but it took me 25 years of wanting before I got a Roadster and I like to do as much up front research as possible.

Thanks for any info you can give.

[John Dol]

Although I have not owned a Cobra, it seems several people here have either owned a Cobra and then moved to a Coupe, or still have both.
It seems somewhat of a natural progression as far as the Cobra as a "starter" car, and then move to a Coupe.
The Cobra is a beautiful car but for me the Coupe just took the cake. The lines and uniqueness really pulled me in. The build is a little more complex but if you have completed a Cobra already you'll be fine (probably further ahead then I am LOL).
I bought my Coupe in Montreal as a non-started kit and brought it back to the US. Is it because it is registered that you can't bring it in to the US?

John

[DARKPT]

For me, it had to be the Coupe because of the shape and because it had a roof to cover my bald(ing) head.

You should definitely get a ride in a Coupe before pulling the trigger. I haven't ridden in a Roadster, but I can imagine that the sound is different. I don't have sound deadener in mine, and the enclosed interior bounces some of that noise around. You could always dampen that with insulation (which adds weight).

Its a lot harder to hide wiring under the hood of the Coupe. That didnt bother me, but if you're used to leaving the hood open at car shows then you'll need to work harder to hide the wiring.

[Russ Thompson]

I have built both and still have both my roadster and coupe and I love both but they are different animals. If you want a car that you can just jump in and have fun with you can't beat the roadster. Where the coupe really shines is when you want to do longer trips. I have done 400 mile trips in both and the roadster beats you up. I get home after several hours in the roadster and buzz for another hour! :-) I go in the coupe, the roadster guys are bundled up in jackets and I'm in the coupe in a T shirt.My coupe has A/C, power brake and the IRS so it rides nice.
So you need to figure out how you plan to use the car and go from there.

[PaulW]

I have built both and still have both my roadster and coupe and I love both but they are different animals. If you want a car that you can just jump in and have fun with you can't beat the roadster. Where the coupe really shines is when you want to do longer trips. I have done 400 mile trips in both and the roadster beats you up. I get home after several hours in the roadster and buzz for another hour! :-) I go in the coupe, the roadster guys are bundled up in jackets and I'm in the coupe in a T shirt.My coupe has A/C, power brake and the IRS so it rides nice.
So you need to figure out how you plan to use the car and go from there.

Russ,

I think you hit the nail on the head. I want a car that I can take some distance from home and not have to have a complete weather report before leaving. As well, once retired I will have the time to attend events that are a day or two from home. So all in all the Coupe seems like the better car. As i stated i have wanted a Roadster for close to 27 years and while giving it up is a little tough the bottom line is that I have realized the dream, I have many pictures and videos so I can say that i acheived that dream.

[snakebit31]

My coupe is not on the road, so I can only hope to enjoy it as much as Russ. It does have heat and AC. I built a roadster first, and it was the learning curve to tackle the coupe. As Russ stated, very accurately, after a few hours on the road, it really beats on you. But everything that is bad(if you could call it bad) are the things I like the most. The smell of gas, the noise, the open cockpit. I sold my roadster prior to finishing my coupe. That was the biggest mistake I think I've made, regarding these cars. I will definitely build another roadster once the coupe is completed, hopefully next spring.
I was fortunate to have won the grand prize at the 2005 FFR Nationals. At the time, it was a kit of your choice. I chose the coupe.

Rob

[riptide motorsport]

I have both, I will sell the Coupe soon. its cool and attracts an incredible amount of attn. but the roadster is the one that really does it for me. its like having 2 supermodels for girlfriends and having to choose one.

[snakebit31]

its like having 2 supermodels for girlfriends and having to choose one.


Nice! Well said!