We know you’re a fan of model cars and love the Cabriolet, Roadster and Bolide U-9 models! Good news: you’re going to have to make a little room on your shelf, because a new high-performance mechanical model has just joined the Ugears collection. Introducing the Cobra Drift Racing Car, a sleek two-seater convertible inspired by the most famous sports car of all time: the Shelby Cobra 427. The Cobra 427, produced between 1965 and 1967, was powered by a 7-liter engine developing 450 to 510 horsepower. It reached 0 to 100 km/h in just over 4 seconds, with a top speed of 260 km/h. At the time, it was fantastic.

A little history

Carroll Shelby, a former racing driver and car designer, was hired by Ford Motor Co. to create a high-performance racing car capable of competing with the famous, and until then unbeatable, Italian Ferrari team. The Americans’ four consecutive victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1966 and 1969, at the wheel of the Ford GT40, have gone down in automotive legend. More recently, the car was the star of the 2019 Oscar-winning film Le Mans 66, starring Matt Damon as Shelby and Christian Bale as Ken Miles, Ford’s ace driver in 1966. The success of the cars coming out of Shelby’s workshop in Venice, California, was the starting point for a series of American supercars or “muscle cars” with insane performance, featuring powerful V8 engines placed in relatively lightweight, mass-produced, rear-wheel-drive chassis. The Shelby Cobra is a true American icon, and perhaps even the best-known sports car.

How the Ugears Drift Cobra Racing Car works.

Driven by a powerful spring-loaded motor, the Ugears Drift Cobra Race Car packs a real punch under the hood, making it the fastest wooden mechanical model we’ve ever seen. The model is reassembled using a ratchet knob on the underside of the chassis. Before reassembling your Drift Cobra, move the air filter protruding from the hood towards the windscreen, and flip the switch in front of the passenger seat to the lock position (parallel to the door). Then turn the ratchet under the wooden car body. After 6 to 6.5 turns of the knob, the spring is fully tensioned, and your car is ready to roar! Set the gearshift, located between the driver and passenger seats, to the desired position (reverse, neutral, drive). To start the model, place it on a horizontal surface, slide the air filter forward and watch your Cobra spin (start with the wheels turned to one side), circle or roll in a straight line.

In our opinion, this do-it-yourself 3D puzzle is a real gem, with its wide tires, curved lines (thanks to precision laser-cut parts in 1 mm plywood), roaring grille and innate elegance. This wooden car features front wheels that turn, doors that open, and a hood and trunk that can be raised. Instead of a traditional rubber-band motor, we’ve opted for a powerful spring-loaded mechanism that not only gives the car plenty of power, but also has the added advantage of extending the model’s lifespan. The ratchet mechanism means you don’t have to hold the knob for the duration of the winding – potential energy is stored with each rotation, without slipping, until the powerful internal spring is fully tensioned.

To put the model into drift mode, turn the front wheels completely to one side or the other, place the car on a smooth surface (such as tiles, for example): the model will skid sideways (ideally, your model should make a half or full turn before continuing forward, depending on the driving surface and the angle of rotation of the wheels). When the wheels are straight, the model can roll even further, up to 8 meters! Turn the wheels slightly, or place the car on a smoother surface, and watch your Cobra Drift complete two or three full turns.

Technical data

High-quality wood from sustainable sources makes up the Cobra Drift Racing Car kit. Everything you need for assembly is included. What’s more, we use a laser method to cut the parts from a plywood board, providing precise cuts. Then remove the parts from the boards and assemble them to create the complete model.
Why not take a leaf out of Carroll Shelby’s book, and feel the pride and satisfaction of building a beautifully functional automotive machine with your own hands? Everything you need for this ambitious but achievable 3D wooden puzzle is in the box.