Few photos...
Was a very nice 289 replica example as you can see.
I must admit, I was slightly apprehensive when I got there to hire the car as it had no roll hoops, but after 5 minutes of driving, I was hooked.
Driving away was funny as it was a lot more "rattly" than the M... one of those things you must expect from a 25 year old car but might forget until you drive one. The revcounter only went to around 5,000 rpm, but the noise and rumble of the V8 was addictive. Drove from Derbyshire upto Leeds along A roads, which took around 2:30 rather than 1:00 on the motorway, but boy was it worth it.
It had a bored out 4.0 litre Rover V8, and based on the fact that this sounded lovely, I can only imagine what a chevvy 5.7 litre would sound like in a 427 replica (drool...)
Every aspect of driving was fun - slow maneuvers were trickier without power steering etc but that was ok. It did feel more involving than the M in this respect. Junctions and going around town (10mph - 50mph) was most fun.
I thought it would be very cold with lack of side windows and rear wind deflector, but I think not having the latter actually helps as the air can't get sucked around the cabin (as it might with the windows down in the M) and the wind wasn't too bad wrapped up.
It wouldn't start the following morning, which noted would be a drawback of owning one (i.e. maintenenace requirement), but that's ok - its an old car after all, and it was far from a pristine example as you might expect from a hire car. In any case, I'm now considering buying one in the not too distant future. Maybe a 427 with a 5.7 chevvy engine.
I must admit, if I had one I might sell the M and get a more "basic" weekday car, with the Cobra for weekend thrills. However, my girlfriend was quick to point out when we got back in the M, how in comparison, its like a jet engine (!) and great in many different ways.
Both great cars. Great weekend - highly recommend it. Car hire place is "Rothwell Classics".