For the first time since its founding 10 years ago, Power Automedia entered a project car in the prestigious SEMA Show. The build is one of the most ambitious, baddest street cars our team of builders, visionaries, and in-house professionals have ever envisioned.
Built almost entirely in a home garage using basic tools, the Factory Five Cobra Jet Challenge Car made its debut at SEMA in Las Vegas in December 2015.
As a featured automobile in the SEMA Battle of the Builders competition, the Challenge Car is constructed of raw billet and carbon fiber with a satin luster, which gives it a rugged, yet sleek and modern appearance without losing the distinctive profile these roadsters are known for.
“This is a true, two-car home garage build that has only been worked on after hours and on the weekends in the last year,” said Mark Gearhart, builder. “We finished it up in our Power Automedia Tech Center due to the SEMA time constraints, and to perform final tests on our in-house Dynojet.”
The basis of the project is a proven Factory Five MK4 Challenge series car with the optional Street Completion package (which consists of a second seat, carpet, and a windshield) that adds to its road-worthiness. The Challenge kit differentiates itself from the standard Roadster kit due to its fully integrated, NASA legal cage, a robust halo bar, and fully integrated door bars. A Factory Five standard three-link rear suspension and tubular front suspension are a few of the additional items that are included with the kit.
Purpose-built for track and street use, the 2,100-pound car will be driven to and from the track when it’s raced. It is powered by a fully-built 312 cubic-inch Coyote engine featuring a Livernois-sleeved 3.700-inch bore block and Mahle pistons. It makes more than 530 rear-wheel horsepower and 400 lb-ft of torque at a conservative 12:1 compression ratio utilizing InnoV8 billet individual throttle bodies for its aspiration.
“This build has been a labor of love, and we are excited to get it out on road courses to see how it handles and performs,” Gearhart said. “Our thanks to all of our sponsors and build partners who helped this dream become a reality.”
To learn more about this landmark project, follow the build thread here: http://www.turnology.com/project/project-ffr-cobra-jet-challenge/
