Introduction

There was a time, years ago, when the American love affair with the automobile was in full bloom. A time before minivans and SUV’s. A time before leather lined luxury lounges-on-wheels and rolling entertainment centers when being distracted from the journey would have seemed a travesty. A time when men and women would drive long distances simply for the pure joy of the open road and the freedom it brought. A time when the journey was as much a part of the joy of travel as the destination.

Out of that passion were born truly legendary machines that were both a reflection of and a driving force behind that passion. Sculpted bodies with graceful curves so sensuous and beautiful as to qualify them as erotic art. Powerful engines mounted under long hoods driving the rear wheels under abbreviated rear decks. Muscular bulges arching over oversized tires. More than machines, they seemed alive, like a jungle cat coiled to spring or a racehorse pounding down the home stretch.

The intervening years have not erased these images - the Reventlow Scarab, the Jaguar D-Type, the Maserati Birdcage, the Aston-Martin DB2 racer, the Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, the Mercedes Benz 300 SLR, the Lister Jag, the Ford GT-40. And certainly at the top of the list are the muscular 427 Cobra and its sensually beautiful sibling, the Daytona Coupe. Shapes that like a stunningly beautiful woman, once seen, never leave the conscious memory for long. In quiet moments, the mind resurrects them and savors them for the simple joy of their beauty.

Thanks to Jim Price and his dedicated crew at Hi-Tech Automotive in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, these images need not be confined to distant memory or far away museums. For a decade now the dream has become reality for the many owners of the Superformance Mk III.

Design Model - 1997

Prototype One - One Lap of America 2000

Prototype Three - South Africa 2003

Production Coupe 0004 - Monterey 2003

Building on the stunning success of the Superformance Mk III, Hi-Tech has announced the long awaited Superformance Coupe. Enthusiasts around the world are taking great heart that a manufacturer with Hi-Tech’s reputation for engineering, quality, and value has made the substantial investment necessary to bring about the renaissance of this legendary machine.

This renaissance is the work of many people, people with the vision and heritage to create a modern legend. The renaissance, however, is not a simple repeat of the past. This time the target is different. And this time the designers and builders have been given the resources to do it right. So here then is the story of the Superformance Coupe, the people and the modern legend that they have created.

Mike Stenhouse