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| Replica is true to its roots |
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All of which probably sounds like a fairly grown-up way of passing the time. And so it did to me until we got to the corners. If I could create the template for my ideal road car, it would have its engine in the front, its driveshafts at the rear, double wishbone suspension at each corner, a ludicrous amount of torque and a very tight limited slip differential. The Le Mans Coupe ticks every box.
The diff and suspension geometry actually mean its traction is surprisingly good but if you do manage to prise the rear end from its grip on the tarmac, you will find yourself travelling extremely sideways very quickly indeed. Again, the feel-free steering does the car no favours but you soon learn that although the tail moves at speed, it does so in a linear fashion and is therefore easy enough to round up. Discover this and you can slide it almost anywhere no-one's looking, before rocketing up the road ahead, watching your GoodYears vaporise in the mirror.
I approached the Superformance with respect for its creators and therefore expecting a well crafted and honest recreation of an old legend. What I had not expected was one of the greatest driving machines ever to grace the public road. This car is an astonishing achievement: gorgeous, almost indescribably fast and utterly true to its roots. In short, far from defiling the memory of the Daytona Cobra, it actually contrives to honour it. And that is its greatest achievement by far.
The Superformance Le Mans Coupe is sold by Rod Leach's 'Nostalgia'. Tel: 01992 500007, e-mail rodleach@waitrose.com
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