By Rob

Editor-in-Chief

Ok, so you have $50k burning a hole in your pocket and you want a pure sports car. One option is to go to your local Lotus dealer and get a very mildly-optioned Elise with the 189 hp Toyota four banger. Or, you can order yourself a Factory Five Cobra kit and go whole hog—with just about any body, paint and drivetrain option you can think of. With $50k to play with you won't have to mess with any used donor parts, and will even be able to choose between building it yourself or farming it all out. Still, it won't provide the instant gratification of the Lotus. So it's built vs. bought, English sophistication vs. American muscle. Which would you choose?

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