26-01-2025
Factory Five Begins Production of the Mk5
Factory Five Racing is rolling out a new version of its Cobra replica called the Mk5 Roadster.
The Mk5 has room for larger drivers and an optional removable hardtop that includes the windshield.
Prices start at $24,990 and the car is in production now—assembly not included.
In an alternate reality, the original Shelby Cobra never died. It stayed in production and, over the decades, was refined and perfected while retaining its essential animalistic character. While we'd argue that Massachusetts doesn't exist in a parallel universe—not entirely—that timeline with more and better Cobras did take shape there, at Factory Five Racing in Wareham. Factory Five got started building Cobra replica kits in 1995, and now 30 years later they're rolling out the fifth generation of their kit, dubbed the Mk5 Roadster. It's still got two seats, a V-8 and DIY instructions, but the Mk5 is a long way from both the car that inspired it and its own immediate predecessor, the Mk4.
In its biggest departure from tradition, the Mk5 uses a rectangular spaceframe instead of a round tube frame. The new frame weighs 55 pounds more than the Mk4 frame, but Factory Five says it delivers a 400 percent increase in rigidity. It's also designed with a more capacious cockpit, accommodating a driver who is 6'5", 330 pounds, and wears size 14 shoes. NFL offensive tackles who are handy with a wrench, step right up.
The roll bar is two inches shorter than before and canted three degrees rearward, but because the floor is 2.5 inches lower, there's actually a half-inch more coverage relative to the driver. (A passenger's-side roll bar is optional.) The shorter roll bar enables the Mk5's most striking visual change: a one-piece removable carbon fiber hard top. Unlike hard tops that are designed to fit over a tall roll bar, this one doesn't have the profile of a freshly bought trucker cap. In fact, it doesn't even look like a convertible top, since it includes its own windshield. Yes, you'll need to remove the standard windshield to fit the hardtop, but that kind of project probably won't daunt a customer who built the whole car.
The Mk5's composite body is delivered with a blue gel coat that doesn't look half bad on its own, with the goal of lowering prices for subsequent paint and bodywork. Factory Five says that one reason the Mk5 costs more than the Mk4 is that its body molds will be discarded more than twice as frequently, to keep panel gaps tight and minimize paint prep time.
On the handling front, the lower front control arms are now forged aluminum, and at the rear both upper and lower control arms are forged aluminum. The frame has two sets of mounting holes, to adjust ride height between street and track setups. Between those front control arms, you can fit the usual assortment of Ford V-8s (or, heresy, a GM LS engine) along with a new option: Ford's 7.3-liter Godzilla crate engine. Derived from the heavy-duty truck powerplants, that monster has an iron block and will doubtlessly impact the car's 2250-pound baseline weight, but it'll fit for those looking for the 427 Cobra brand of overkill.
Factory Five president Dave Smith acknowledges that it doesn't really make sense to develop an all-new car, but he wanted to keep the company's signature product moving forward, so that's what happened. Factory Five will keep building the less expensive Mk4 ($20,990) for traditionalists and more budget-conscious thrill seekers, but the Mk5 is the new flagship in a class of one.
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