In its fourth year, the Western States Cobra Bash (WSCB) was bigger and better than ever. The event was held at John Ascuaga's Nugget Hotel/Casino in Sparks, Nevada, May 15-17, 2008. The Cobra Bash is for owners of original and replica Cobras, Daytona coupes, and GT40s. Participants came from all over the United States to participate in the three days of festivities. Combined, just over 220 cars packed into the corral, and to keep the event size under control, the limit was set to 200 cars. There were many who wanted to come but did not get their registration in on time. The '08 Bash was 100 percent sold out back in December 2007 in just less than two weeks. WSCB had evolved into one of those special gatherings that come along once in a lifetime.

Last year we enjoyed ourselves and gathered a great deal of useful information putting a dozen replicars through a quartet of performance tests, so we made a sequel for 2008. In Hollywood, sequels oftentimes fall far short of the original's impact. Thankfully, the second annual KIT CAR Performance Day was a blockbuster. The very same KIT CAR and Source Interlink Media colleagues who worked in 2007 rolled up their sleeves and produced an even better '08 event.

The 15th Annual Unique Motorcars' Homecoming Celebration took place a couple of weeks earlier than it did last year. There was some sort of scheduling conflict with another automotive event. No worries. That simply gave KIT CAR the excuse to head out to Gadsden, Alabama, when the temperatures aren't so Southeast U.S. sultry and sticky.

This year, superlative weather and sublime track conditions kept the Mid-Ohio Cobra replica owners on track for the maximal amount of time throughout the two days of instruction and racing on the famous road course. The field of participants was lower than in the two previous years, which gave drivers all the more space to hone their racing skills. With no weather delays, racers made the most of their opportunity.

The London Cobra Show is a multi-day series of spectacles all geared around replicas of Cobras, Ford GT40s, Daytona Coupes, and their social owners. Enthusiasts from disparate parts of the U.S. and Canada converge upon Lexington, Columbus, and London, Ohio, to partake in the festivities. Ohio Cobra Club volunteers devote much of their free time to produce the LCS and make sure that it's a success. Measured by how many participants and spectators the event yields and, more importantly, how much money is raised to help find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis, the OCC hits a homerun every year.

In the last two issues of KC, we chronicled a couple stops on the "KIT CAR Travels To Florida" road tour. The magazine's advertising sales gurus-Angela Schoof, associate publisher, and Brenda Frias, advertising sales executive-accompanied KC's editor on a weeklong road-warrior junket of the Sunshine State. The third visit for the intrepid trio was a fun-filled stop at Finish Line Accessories in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Most Cobra replica enthusiasts who have built their own roadster have probably done business with the company. Many of you probably aren't aware of how Finish Line grew from selling Moto-Lita Cobra steering wheels to becoming a multi-million dollar success story.

Anyone who's a fan of KIT CAR magazine probably knows what the Run 'N' Gun is all about. For the uninformed, it's speed and time-capturing the fastest speed and lap time on Gateway International's Raceway, in Madison, Illinois. Achieving the lowest elapsed time in the SCCA sanctioned autocross. Going straightest and swiftest on the track's 1/4-mile dragstrip and getting the lowest e.t.

Some say Carlisle wouldn't be Carlisle without wind, rain, and cold temperatures. Having covered the event the last two years, we can't assert this is so for the entire 23 years that the Carlisle Import-Kit/Replicar Nationals has taken place. However, we're two for two in terms of delighting in the vagaries of what Mother Nature has to throw at us intrepid handbuilt and import automotive enthusiasts.

The kit and replicar hobby in particular and the automotive enthusiast arena in general bring like-minded people together. The clubs across the United States that realize this fact and exploit it are the clubs that are flourishing. A prime example of a club that's growing in numbers, both in terms of enthusiasts and cars, is the Texas Cobra Club. Made up of members who belong to the Austin Cobra Club, the Dallas Cobra Club, and the Houston Cobra Club, the Texas Cobra Club's philosophy is: "It's not just about a bunch of cool cars, it's about the people."

Knott's A.H.A. Show is a rite of spring for kit car/replica fans across the land. Some manufacturers travel from as far away as the East Coast to be a part of the festivities. From KIT CAR's perspective, it's the second outdoor event of the new show season. Our enthusiasm shifts into overdrive when we get our first peek of what the various manufacturers are exhibiting, in addition to the new replicars that are premiered at the Knott's show.

The weekend of April 25th through the 27th saw Porsche replica Speedster and Spyders gather for food, fun, fellowship, and tours along the California central coast in and around Morro Bay. This is an annual gathering of the Porsche replica folks who visit each other regularly on the Internet forum site found at SpeedsterOwners.com (SOC).

Successful professional racecar drivers aren't simply born to the role of winning. Yes, they no doubt possess the right physical attributes. Things like keen vision, excellent endurance, a strong heart, animal-like instincts, and rapid-fire reflexes-the best all have these traits. But, having the required skills and concentration on a racetrack for the duration of a race and somehow crossing the finish line first, that comes from years of learning and practice.

Have an event, get-together, happening, cruise, car show, or other automotive event that relates to the Kit and Replicar world? Then tell uswhen it is so we can all join in the fun! E-mail all the information (event name, dates, location, description, and contact info) to kitcar@sourceinterlink.com, and we'll run it in the next available issue.

The Deep South Cobra Club (DSCC) knows how to throw a party. For the past six years they've held the Reptile Roundup, a multi-day event that appeals to reptiles of the four-wheeled, high-horsepower variety and their enthusiastic owners throughout the Sunshine State. KIT CAR received a gracious invitation to witness and partake in all the Cobra rallying, cruising, racing, and fun that came from the DSCC. As many of y'all know, KC's editor was born in Miami, Florida. A visit to the Sunshine State would be a homecoming of sorts.

The stage was set for some scintillating sports car viewing. We'd received word several days previous from one of KIT CAR's crack advertising sales gurus, Brenda Frias, that a gathering of Ford GTs and GT40s, along with other enthusiast autos, both real and replica, would be descending upon the Ford-Premier Automotive Group-Mazda Campus in Irvine, California. From 7 to 9 a.m. every Saturday, Ford and Mazda host a free car show called Cars & Coffee. This particular Saturday, August 4, 2007, would be a special one indeed. The Ford GT National Rally II would be stopping by for coffee and a bit of showing-off before proceeding to El Toro Marine Base for a Saleen School of Speed autocross later in the day.

Realizing you'd be coming in after dark, your kinfolk would have the porch lights ablaze. The welcome beacon would revive memories of past extended family reunions. No matter how long you've been away, you're always welcome home. That's how it is with most families, and it's how Unique Motorcars, the oldest Cobra replica manufacturer on the planet, conducts business. Jean Weaver and her two sons, Maurice and Alan, founded Unique Motorcars in 1977. For the last 14 years Unique has opened its doors in Gadsden, Alabama, to the extended Weaver family and to its numerous Unique 427SC, 289FIA, and growing '36 Ford cabriolet customer base.

Speedway Motors is a huge mail-order auto parts company located in Lincoln, Nebraska. Their founder, Bill Smith, is famous in sprint car circles as the sponsor of famed circle-trackers like Jan Opperman and Doug Wolfgang. He has been involved in all phases of motor sports, including sprints, Indy cars, Pikes Peak hillclimbers, dragsters, and hot rods. Speedway's huge 520,000-square-foot headquarters sits on 42 acres near downtown Lincoln, and the lucrative business is still run by Smith, his wife Joyce, and sons Jason, Carson, Craig, and Clay.

Have an event, get-together, happening, cruise, car show, or other automotive activity that relates to the kit and replicar world? Then tell us when it is so we can all join in the fun! E-mail all the information (event name, dates, location, description, and contact info) to kitcar@primedia.com, and we'll run it in the next available issue.

As an exciting prequel to the London Cobra Show, the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington, Ohio, hosted the second annual two-day driving school. The event was so popular in 2006 that Cobra, Daytona Coupe, and GT40 replica owners came back for more racing fun in '07. In '06, KIT CAR flew out to Ohio for the second day of track time in the hopes of getting a bunch of cool action photography. Mother Nature made us pay for cutting class on the first day of the driving school. It rained the entire time. The only photos we could take on day two were of restless racers in the garages and their well-built creations; we played the waiting game, but were denied.

If this year's event is any indication, the quaint Central California town of Paso Robles will soon be known for more than producing spectacular wines. It may become the annual meeting place for replicar enthusiasts who fancy Porsche Speedsters, Spyders, and other air-cooled German cars.

It's quite possible kit car enthusiasts are wrenching away somewhere every minute of the day in the U.S. But creativity does rest. That's when we dream up cool things to do with our cars to make them unique. But there's always someone who has to put together a few more parts before calling it quits for the day or night while the rest of us are dreaming of more horsepower or chrome. Somebody's just getting started on a project at the same time someone else is performing the finishing touches.

For the third year in a row, the Western States Cobra Bash (WSCB) was a blast. Sticking to the original theme, this year's gathering consisted of owners and their Cobras, Daytona Coupes, and GT40s arriving in Reno-Sparks, Nevada, from all over the U.S.A., with visitors inside and outside the U.S. There were some nice originals and many replicas on hand. Our three-day plan started with arrivals and a welcoming, a track day on Friday, the drive through Tahoe and Squaw Valley on Saturday morning, and culminated with a public car show in the afternoon. We could not have been more pleased with the excitement and enthusiasm of all the participants and attendees. At the core of the WSCB is the idea of getting together, just relaxing, and having some good old fun. For some, it's the anticipation, planning, and traveling in caravans of Cobras from different U.S. regional clubs. For others, it's all about preparing the cars and being finished in time for the WSCB as a great season-opener and launch of the summer. The gods were upon us, because the weather for our third year topped the previous two years.

Have an event, get-together, happening, cruise, car show, or other automotive activity that relates to the kit and replicar world? Then tell us when it is so we can all join in the fun! E-mail all the information (event name, dates, location, description, and contact info) to kitcar@primedia.com, and we'll run it in the next available issue.

Skill and luck made the 7th Annual London Cobra Show the most successful ever. The multi-day spectacle was the largest in its illustrious history. More than double the money was raised toward research to find a cure for Cystic Fibrosis. A total of 280 cars took over the towns of Columbus and London during the weekend festivities, making it the largest kit car show in the country.