Ever though about what it would be like to own a Shelby Cobra? The original or even a well built kit car? Well now there is another choice that should crowd your wish list. It is the Habu, brought to you by a company that goes by the name of Flyin' Miata. FM has taken the same great formula that Shelby pioneered, small and lite car with a big engine, and ran with it.
Shelby used a British AC Ace and dropped a ridiculous V8 power plant in it then proceeded to embarrassed the European racing community with the prowess of the Cobra. Well FM took the roughly 2300lb Miata and installed an LS3 Corvette motor with a T56 6 speed transmission. They also added a number of suspension upgrades to deal with the extra power. The resulting, beast is no joke and is a true sleeper car.
The power to weigh ratio has put the Habu very close to the 2014 Viper in performance numbers. Probably the reason for the moniker, Habu, it is Japanese for a type of small venomous snake.
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| Habu |
With four hundred and thiry horsepower at 2800lbs this is definitely, figuratively venomous and small. Zero to sixty times under 4 seconds are impressive. But at what cost? The conversion will cost you around 43 grand on top of the cost of the donor car. Now I estimate, a smart person could sell the out going four banger and suspension bits to recoup some of the cost.
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| C6 Drop Top |
But even with that, you would have to consider the proximity of cost to a nice used convertible Corvette. The C7 would be ideal but a C6 rag rop can be had well within the range of what you would pay to create the Habu. Not factored into the price is the emotional rush from driving a vehicle like the Habu and the look on the face of the guy next to you in his C7 as you pull away in your Miata. Priceless.
