The Shape of Light, Son of Cobra Style

It was a celebration. It was a reveal. It was a launch.  It was a party.

As August and summer were winding down, Paul Lefevre and his Son of Cobra brand collaborated with photographer Jake Caminero and Rally Events to celebrate how Son of Cobra is winding up. Many of you create resto-mods. Son of Cobra is creating a market, a new, or renewed way of appreciating and enjoying venerable, classic BMW models.

Attendees got to see Son of Cobra works in various stages of starting and completion.

The Shape of Light, brought to us by Rally Events, was a relatively intimate soiree with pre-event reservations limiting attendance to 120 guests. The highlights included four Son of Cobra cars on display in various stages, but it certainly didn’t hurt to have pies donated by Julian Pie Company (more on this in a moment), beverages from June Shine and Easy Rider and Caminero’s photos on display, chronicling much of the Son of Cobra growth and success.

Paul Lefevre (Son of Cobra) proudly displays awards from the 2021 SoCal Vintage.

Lefevre’s first build burst on to the scene years ago, breaking up the Covid doldrums by claiming awards at Legends of the Autobahn twice, at the CSF show in Southern California, the B-Sedan Gold Helmet for Keeping the Spirit Alive, and Best of Show at SoCal Vintage. Its carbon fiber body and S14 engine punctuated a precision build that summoned crowds wherever it appeared.

And now it appears with its successors and hints at what’s next. As guests enter the event, held at the Son of Cobra studio and complex, they first encounter a carbon-fiber bodied 2002, days away from going to paint. They are also greeted with pizza, drinks, and pie and as they make their way down the alleyway, they see Lefevre’s “daily driver” up ahead.

The first studio in the complex showed off this example days ahead of it going to paint.

“This one is intended to remain more period-correct and serves as my test mule to a certain extent,” Lefevre explains. “It’s still carbon fiber, but not exposed, except for the hood and trunk which are exposed fiberglass. This is pretty much my daily driver. But also when I want to test something, I try it out on this car.”

The exterior of Lefevre’s daily is amazing, but that fiberglass dashboard always captures attention, too.

Just inside from the daily were two more examples of how quickly and certainly the Son of Cobra brand has continued to mature. The highlight of the show, the Bristol Gray commission, stands proudly, just weeks away from going home with its new owner. As though ushering in the next evolution with Son of Cobra, the Bristol Gray 2002 Tii pointed toward a BMW E9.

Son of Cobra Car number 2 points the way to more future projects.

“For me, this is the first event I did like this,” explains Lefevre. “I wasn’t really sure what would happen. At the beginning, people were starting to come in, lots of people. I started talking with friends and then went outside again and saw the crowd. I remember thinking, “whoa, there is a lot of people here! It was great meeting new people and seeing industry people from surf industry and car industry.”

Lefevre enjoyed talking to the guests so much, day had very much turned into night before things completely wrapped up.

Lefevre’s own car is sort if a rolling beta test. “It’s carbon fiber throughout except the exposed fiberglass hood, trunk, and dashboard,” Lefevre describes. “This car is intended to be more of a period correct build with no exposed carbon fiber, more like a prototype car or test mule.”

That must be a fun test mule; it’s Lefevre’s daily driver.

His first build was entirely carbon fiber boasting a 2.3 liter S14 producing 210 horsepower at the wheel. Lefevre knows the market for those cars is limited, so he has plans for a little more—but just a little—diversity in the offerings, and it’s already making an impact.  “I feel like the whole brand is coming up,” Lefevre says. “I know it is a niche market and pretty much a big risk to project myself as a builder for the 2002 chassis. I know I’m not alone, but compared to the 356 or 911, there are not too many doing this with the 2002. I really want to push as hard as I can to offer the best of the best.  I’m not looking to have the most powerful car or the nicest car. For me, it’s important to keep the original feel of the car, keep it more balanced than fast. I focus on the weight and trying to remain true to the original feel. My investment in all this time and work is showing a really exciting future.”

Some of his builds will include the S14, but what he does with the M10 seems pretty good, too!

That future is exciting for us, too, and it was on display at this Shape of Light event.  That first example we saw as we entered in its fantastic, exposed carbon fiber is officially the third Son of Cobra car. This one has already been commissioned as well, so don’t let its beauty and forthcoming 2.5 liter S14 producing 250 horsepower at the wheel make you reach for your own wallet just yet. This top of the line Son of Cobra option should be completed in early 2025.

He’s not focusing on parts, but he’s made some nice ones.

We met the daily driver with the exposed fiberglass hood and trunk. There are a few lucky 02 owners in SoCal with carbon fiber and fiber glass Son of Cobra parts, but Lefevre doesn’t see that as the core focus for Son of Cobra. “Right now, I am still doing some parts, but I am concentrating on commissions now,” he says. “It takes about ten to twelve months for a car, so I’m anticipating building two per year.”

The E9 is still very much in development but also is still very much impressive.

Most of the 120 guests present would admit they did at least a lap or two round the E9 in Lefevre’s studio. It sure looks enticing but is still very much in development, too. “The E9 is sort of a little teaser,” admits Lefevre. “We still have a lot to do on the chassis and work on reinforcements and development of the brakes.  The powertrain will be an S38 so that will take some work, too. This one is being built for the business, not as a commissioned unit. The goal is to have it ready for SEMA in 2025.

Dave Smothers followed Lefevre’s suggestions for his commissioned build and we’re pretty sure he’s going to like it.

The Bristol Gray 2002 Tii in the adjacent room served as another tease to all but one of the attendees. We can’t have that one either because it’s already spoken for, but we did get to meet the thrilled owner and we got to eat his pies.  By the time you’re reading this, Dave Smothers, owner of Julian Pies, will have taken delivery of the official Number Two Son of Cobra car. This example kept the M10 engine, now at 2.3 liters and producing 180 horsepower at the wheel and 210 crank horsepower. It still retains the actual original block from the car.

Classic BMWs and Julian Pies are always a good combination, but this combo shows company owner Smothers’ commissioned 02 as well.

SoCal Vintage attendees might recognize these names—both Son of Cobra and Julian Pies—as they are staples at the annual November namesake event. “I had seen Paul win Best of Class at SoCal Vintage with his Florida Green 2002,” Smothers recalls. “We started emailing and it led to me commissioning this car in Bristol Gray. Once I saw Paul’s work, that just sold me. I’ve never commissioned a build before, but the timing worked out.”

Photographer Finn Rodriguez went for the phone pic for this cool combination shot of the Bristol Gray 02 and the E9.

The Bristol Gray is more than just a pretty color for Smothers. “I now have three BMW classics all in Bristol Gray,” he explains. “My first one was a 2000CS and through that car, I got to know the folks at La Jolla Independent quite well. Then I spotted a Bristol Gray 1800Ti on Bring a Trailer about three years ago and was fortunate to get that one.”

Smothers’ new car looks great at any angle.

And now the Son of Cobra Tii completes the Bristol Gray trio in grand fashion. While we were enjoying the pies from his Julian Pies company, he was beaming at his new car, already thinking of how he’ll enjoy it. “I live about three miles out of town (outside San Diego) toward Lake Cuyamaca,” Smothers says. “Those roads up by Mt. Laguna and Banner Grade are great driving roads. I take out the other cars, including my Lotus Evora GT and a Z4 M Coupe. I love to get out and drive.”

At the Son of Cobra shop, it is literally carbon fiber on top of carbon fiber.

Another guest beaming at the cars at the event was Robert Mosca, and he was also looking at the cars like a proud parent for different reasons. He works with Lefevre as a coach builder and with composites and admired the work so much, he sought to be a part of it. “Paul Lefevre is redefining the diluted meaning of bespoke restomods through craftsmanship and dedication,” Mosca says. “Every aspect of Son of Cobra is Paul. It’s as if his two hands are printers for his ideas and visions.  Having the opportunity to bring these cars to life alongside Paul has been a special and fulfilling experience.  Son of Cobra cars are an example to the rest of the world of what bespoke automobile product is. Truly one of a kind and impossible to imitate.”

Lefevre turned to Kooglewerks for support to develop the wheels.

While it might be difficult for others to imitate, Lefevre intends to continue making more of his bespoke restomods. His commissioned builds will be led by one of three powertrains: a carbureted power plant, a 2.3 liter M10, and then the S14 at either 2.3 or 2.5 liters. Outside of some one-off options, most of the rest of the cars will remain consistent. “The suspension will stay the same, the body will be the same, and they’ll use the same bigger brakes and steering set-up,” Lefevre adds. “I’m going to target 1800 pounds, depending on the power plants. The wheels have been developed with Forrest from Kooglewerks and will be a squared 15×8 set-up unless you’re getting the S14 and then we’ll go with 15×10 in the rear.”

It’s going to continue to be exciting to see what’s next for Son of Cobra (seen here rolling into SoCal Vintage 2023).

From the time people first saw the Florida Green winner Lefevre brought out to events, they’ve been asking what’s next. As Lefevre showed at the Shape of Light event, there’s a lot next. While Smothers has the actual Next One, we can already see more in the works those look equally as intriguing.

Bonus gallery of pics follows here:

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