This Shop Hand-Builds Only Two Carbon-Fiber BMW 2002s A Year

From California

Son of Cobra, run by Paul Lefevre, presents itself as a true artisan shop. Lefevre started with surfboards in his previous job. After learning the craft, he realized that surfboards and lightweight panels share a lot in common.

Merging the two, Lefevre opened Son of Cobra, a specialist shop that blends form and function, with an emphasis on lightness and a particular vintage style. Inspired by classic racers, Son of Cobra takes classic design and brings it into the new era. "Vintage racing meets modern design," as the brand likes to put it.

It Started With A Vision

Lightweight and modern, that was what Lefevre started with. What if you could make it lighter, use space-age materials, and make it for today's roads? Son of Cobra is a shop that hand-makes bespoke carbon fiber bodies, produced entirely in-house.

Son of Cobra makes a carbon fiber chassis, and not just panels. The prime example of his work is the Son of Cobra BMW 2002, which features a carbon-fiber body and chassis and tips the scales at just over 1763.7 pounds (800 kilograms).

It started with a few panels, then moved on to more bits and pieces until eventually, Lefevre was able to make full cars, chassis included, all made out of carbon fiber. Everything is done by hand, which makes the process very tedious, with only two cars built per year. In a video feature for Except Sundays, Lefevre sat down with the team to talk about his beginnings and how Son of Cobra came to be.

Interiors and Engines Too

Not only are the bodies bespoke, but also the interiors and engines. Lefevre takes his expertise and attention to detail all the way into the cabin. All of the parts are made out of carbon and done with exceptional attention to detail.

As for the engine, it's no wild turbocharged four-cylinder with over 500 horsepower and a turbo flutter that can make children cry; instead, it is a 2.3-liter M10 stroker that's carbureted and makes only 160 horsepower to the wheels. The fuel-injected version that's offered gets 180 horsepower. The top-of-the-line special is a BMW S14 engine done in either 2.3- or 2.5-liter displacements, and it makes a respectable 210 to 250 wheel horsepower. Definitely no electric conversions here, like what Nomad did.

Now, that might not sound like a lot, but it sounds intoxicating. Larry Chen, with Hagerty, was able to cover Son of Cobra, and even record a sound clip of the 2002 in action.

An Artist's Mindset

Why hasn't Lefevre gone big with this? There are probably a ton of 2002 enthusiasts out there who would want something like this in their garage. Well, truth be told, Son of Cobra is an artisan's brand. It's not looking to scale, and instead keeps things personal and close to home.

That's why only two cars come out of the shop every year. It's the control, the craftsmanship, and the artist's perspective. Lefevre is definitely proud of his work, and when it comes to crafting these 2002s, only a select few will experience them, and even fewer will own them.

So, I guess the same can be said about the brand's surfboards as well? Lefevre did say that the surfboards are a side thing now, apparently.

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