2007 Nitto Tire King of the Street - Battle For The Throne

Fred Wright

'03 Cobra
Elkhart, IA
Horsepower: 6
Ride and Drive: 7
Engineering: 8
Drag Race: 2
Fit and Finish: 8
Popular Vote: 4
Total Score: 43.05

Fred Wright purchased Ryan Vitiritto's '03 Cobra just prior to the Nitto Tire KOTS. We didn't know Fred had bought the car until he tracked us down to introduce himself while we were all waiting in the NMRA World Finals line. This car was supposed to be in last year's KOTS, but Ryan hurt the engine right before the competition. He told us to give him another shot for 2007, and that's what we did. We loved the car last year, but when we saw the Cobra in person we loved it even more. The House of Colors white-with-orange-stripes paint scheme made us drool like Tech Editor Jones at a Dickies factory outlet. The Cobra's stance was second to none, and the Weld Alumastar rolling stock contributed to the car's persona. Fred's Cobra simply looked wicked.

However, a leaky oil seal wreaked havoc on the mass air meter on Fred's car causing a wicked miss between 4,000-5,000 rpm. Below that rpm range, the car purred like a kitten, and above that range, you better have both hands on the steering wheel and a clear road ahead of you. You also better have another hand on the shifter because before you can say "Holy mother of earth," it's time to shift. That brings me to a minor sore spot I had with Fred's Cobra: I've never been a fan of cue ball-size shift knobs. To me, they're not conducive to quick shifting, and as you've read, I need all the help I can get to reach the next gear. I didn't count the shift ball against Fred because that's a matter of personal taste, but if you're thinking about entering '08's KOTS, keep that in mind.

To summarize Fred's Cobra, even with the driveability issues, the car was a blast to drive. It didn't suffer from any rattles or strange noises from either the front or the rearend like some of the other cars. As a matter of fact, the Cobra was quiet. It made 708 hp, scoring a 6 in that category. Because of the driveability issues, the car scored a 7 in the Ride and Drive. It scored an 8 in both the Engineering and Fit and Finish categories, but a poor showing in the Drag Race and Popular Vote categories sealed his finishing order.

On a personal level, if I was pressed to pick any of the KOTS cars I would most like to take home, Fred's Cobra would be close to the top, if not at the top. It's a shame the driveability issues reared their ugly head during the competition. Right after the competition, the Cobra went to Modular Powerhouse for more performance upgrades. Will we see it again? Maybe so--he tells us he'll be back. We can't wait.