There is one weekend out of the year that has unseasonably loud thunder in the sleepy little town of Ross, Ohio. It wasn't really weather-related, but instead created by the natural accumulation of Superformance owners from across the country who converge in Ross to attend the Spring Snake Roundup.
Affectionately dubbed the SSR, this year's event celebrated Superformance's 10th anniversary with over 180 Superformance owners (with varieties including the Superformance Mark-III, S-1 Roadster, Coupe, and even a few Noble M12s) and enthusiasts from all over the world attending, some having driven more than 800 miles to be there.
What all these cars share is they were all manufactured at Superformance's high-tech factory in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. James Price, owner of Superformance, along with Ronnie Kruger (president of Superformance International of Virginia) have always considered owners of their cars to be part of a huge extended family, which makes the annual Spring Snake Roundup more of a family reunion than anything else.
Though torrential monsoons greeted early arrivals, these enthusiasts didn't let a little moisture keep them from their long-awaited goal. And you might think the cold, wet, and rainy weather would have these owners keep these beautiful cars from ever seeing even a drop of moisture, but not this crowd. Rain, snow, and even ice won't faze these diehards, and many didn't even bother to put up their soft tops for the day ahead.
Once the snakes were thoroughly warmed, a huge 3-mile-long of Superformance cars headed out on a 120-mile cruise through the lush Ohio River Valley, which brought on the twisty roads every sports car fan dreams of. At the end, the hoard of Snake handlers piloted their possessions to the Edgewater Raceway for a little drag strip action. One car after another staged behind the flickering Christmas tree as dozens of fans held out their cell phones to make calls and catch the reverberation of the ground-shaking sounds as the cars passed by.
The next day saw sunny, clear skies as the automotive entourage drove onto the front lawn of Dynamic Motorsports, parking in rows in the order of their build date. This allowed spectators to view the beauty of this lineup in chronological order as they left the manufacturer's dock. As judges milled the grounds inspecting the cars, the appropriately labeled "Parking Lot Olympics" began, starting with the ability to weigh your ride on a precision four-corner race scale. The results of different engine and accessory combinations proved there was very little difference between big- and small-block models. However, it did reveal a significant increase in handling performance could be had simply by balancing the side-to-side weight differences, which were found to be on an average of 70 lbs apart.
The next event in these auto Olympics was the Drive and Shoot, where the driver of an overpowered sports car drives between cones, positioning it perfectly at several stopping points along the way to shoot a toy gun out of the car at a designated target. Another event segment is the Peel & Squeal launch and brake test, reminiscent of the 0-to-100-to-0 speed records the Cobra became historically famous for. The participant starts at the beginning of a 150-foot-long strip, brings the car up to speed as fast as possible, then brings it to a full stop with the front tires resting within a 5-foot box at the end of the strip. If you stop too soon or slide on through, it doesn't count, and the fastest time from start to stop within the box is the winner. Traction, acceleration, brakes, and most of all, driver judgment, is required to orchestrate a perfect balance of controlled tire spin, speed, and minimal skidding. Even though top speeds never exceeded 35 mph, if you ask any of the drivers, the exhilaration rivaled that as if they were going 150!