1967/1998 Kirkham Cobra by Hawk

Offered by its private vendor after long-term ownership, this is a right-hand drive Kirkham Motorsports vehicle, completed and finished by Gerry Hawkridge at Hawk Cars. The rolling chassis and body were initially supplied by Kirkham and everything else was NOS, period or reproduction supplied and/or manufactured by Hawk. When completed, it was their demonstrator for many years.

The car boasts a full alloy body with a steel 4" tube chassis, just like the original cars. Finished in Guardsman Blue with Wimbledon White stripes, the car is full SC specification powered by a ‘big block’ 7-litre Ford 428FE, with Cobra Jet heads and fuelled through a Holley 750CFM 4BBL carburettor.

The specification is impressive and includes a 4-speed ‘Toploader’ gearbox, Salisbury rear differential, 42-gallon fuel tank, Girling brakes and 15" Halibrand wheels clad with Avons (c.1,500 miles).

The engine was rebuilt by Mike McCluskey in Torrance, California 1,000 miles ago, and the car has been maintained regardless of cost under the current long-term tenure. The owner is a UK resident but has lived in both California and Italy over the last few years and naturally, his beloved Cobra has had to go with him, which is why it’s been registered in California and Italy in the past. Currently, the car is registered here in the UK as an ‘Historic Vehicle’.

There is a good history file with the car and the vendor informs us that it’s potentially eligible for FIA HTP registration should the next owner want to turn the car into a full-race car.

US-based Kirkham Motorsports have a reputation for producing very accurate replicas and Gerry Hawkridge is known to be a talented engineer, so this aluminium-bodied, SC-spec with a big-block 7-litre V8, built and maintained by ‘the right people’, is a rare find and rather special.

If you fancied something similar and approach a company like Kirkham Motorsports it would cost you around $300,000 plus and a few years to wait, so this does look like an interesting proposition for a similar car and one that will reward a closer inspection at the Silverstone Festival Sale.