by Michael Satterfield
So let's say you have billions of dollars and you're looking to spend some of it on a dream car. Do you just head down to a local Bugatti Dealership or order an SSC Ultimate Aero? No... that is far too easy. When you want something really special, you turn to David Kirkham and give him no budget and few limitations. That is exactly what Oracle CEO Larry Ellison commissioned Kirkham Motorsports to do. The results are amazing, a Cobra built out of Billet Aluminum.
So let's say you have billions of dollars and you're looking to spend some of it on a dream car. Do you just head down to a local Bugatti Dealership or order an SSC Ultimate Aero? No... that is far too easy. When you want something really special, you turn to David Kirkham and give him no budget and few limitations. That is exactly what Oracle CEO Larry Ellison commissioned Kirkham Motorsports to do. The results are amazing, a Cobra built out of Billet Aluminum.
Why did they choose a large block of aluminum for the car? Not Carbon Fiber? David explained by saying:
"A solid block of aluminum demands to be carved into something useful, something
beautiful. Though a simple block of aluminum will suffice to make a seemingly
insignificant bracket, what would happen if that bracket were given to an
engineer to make it lighter, stronger? What would happen if that engineer then
exercised strict weight discipline to make it even lighter still-say, to the
extreme? What would happen if we then gave the engineered bracket to an artist
who could transform harsh engineering edges into a graceful genesis of beauty?
The world has never seen a billet chassis."
For around 15 years David and his team have been bending aluminum in the shape of Cobras in his shop in Utah. You can see the full story on their website along with a PDF version of the book documenting the entire build by Clicking Here.
[Source: Kirkham Motorsports]
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