Magnus Jinstrand's V12 Shelby Cobra Kit Car - Crazy Train
It's A Cobra Kit Car, But This One Has A Blown Mercedes V12-And It's In Sweden.
The 427 Shelby Cobra instills every car guy with pure lust, and in fact is what got some people looking at cars in the first place, this author included. The original's aluminum body, complete lack of frill, and take-no-prisoners powerplant combined with a look and stance that say, "I will hunt you down and eat you for lunch," make for one of the most wicked cars of all time. And it's not just a domestic fascination.
The Cobra's reach is global, and it caught the attention of a 7-year-old in Sweden named Magnus Jinstrand as he flipped through a car magazine. As he grew into adulthood, Magnus ventured into the world of fast cars-some of them American muscle and many of them European sports cars-but the image of that Cobra remained in his head until he finally decided to build one. Parking his fully hot rodded Pantera next to a Cobra kit at a car show and talking to a sales rep of the Autofab kit company sealed the deal, and soon a body and frame were sitting in his garage.
In Sweden it's easier to find European stuff in junkyards than it is American muscle, so it's no surprise that there's no FE Ford under the hood. The original plan was to use a Mercedes V8, but the guy selling the engine said he had a Merc V12 that would be better. Adapting a big honkin' blower to the top of Mercedes mill proved difficult but not impossible, but then that's what we've come to expect from Swedish hot rodders-amazing fabrication abilities.
Magnus' sports car history demanded road-course competence, so the chassis uses top-quality parts around a Corvette suspension setup and Pirelli rubber. A big wing was inspired by a friend's Porsche Cup race car, and while the blower protrusion is a bit incongruous, it makes a statement. And it makes horsepower-like around 600.
Magnus and friends did the fabrication work, including making the intake manifold and intricate plumbing, and wired the car from scratch. He even mixed the paint (but didn't spray it) to match his Pantera.
The car has just been finished, so it hasn't been sorted out yet on the track, though photographer Anders Odeholm shot these photos at Mantorp Park in Sweden. The original plan was for Magnus' wife to drive the Cobra at track days while he wheeled his Pantera, but we suspect the Cobra is more fun, so she probably won't get much time behind the wheel. Magnus still has to run through Sweden's vehicle inspection jungle, and the Cobra has a bit of an overheating problem that he's chasing, but once that's all done, this wicked Cobra should strike plenty of European exotics on the street and the track. We need video of that.
