2018 London Cobra Show Raises $100,000

Charities, Cobra owners and fans win at the 2018 LCS

Photos by Juan Lopez-Bonilla

What started as a small picnic in the early 2000s called the Double Venom Spring Fling has now grown into one of, if not the, premier Cobra event in the United States. Now officially known as The London Cobra Show (or simply LCS), the event is organized by the Ohio Cobra Club and takes place every year during the weekend following Father’s Day. Ohio Cobra Club President George Daulton was pleased to report that this year’s event “ran incredibly smooth and was very successful.”

The club sells raffle tickets throughout the year for a Cobra replica with proceeds going to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. This year’s raffle car was a Cobra from Backdraft Racing powered by a small block 427 ci engine from Craft Performance. The 2018 LCS donation totaled $104,500, and over the years the group has now donated $1,333,000 to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Backdraft made a strong showing of its Cobras, built in South Africa.

This year’s raffle Cobra, built by Backdraft, was won by Larry K. of London, Ohio.

Staging area at the truck stop prior to roaring into London, Ohio.

Lance Smith of Craft Performance was all smiles over his new crate engines. We’ll be digging into the details of them in an upcoming issue.

Unique Motorcars rolled out a roadster with a Le Mans hardtop.

There’s more than one way to skin a snake, and this Cobra has a snakeskin stripe.

The winner of the 2018 Cobra raffle was Larry K. of London, Ohio, who was the third London resident to take home the grand prize, keeping it in the event’s host city. The Ohio Cobra Club also made donations to local organizations, which included the London Police Department, London Fire Department, London EMS and Sheriff’s Association. Daulton extended a sincere thank you to those local organizations stating “those groups do quite a bit for us, and we simply could not host the show without them.” A little inclement weather held overall attendance slightly down compared to previous years, however the LCS still had 140 cars registered this year. The Cobra owners provide rides to attending spectators to help raise money in addition to what is brought in through ticket sales. In total, 446 rides were given this year. Three of the Cobras topped 40 rides alone, with the leader providing a whopping 46 rides by himself. In addition to the rides through London, there were also 17 vendors in attendance showing their support for the cause, the highest number at any LCS to date.

A convoy of Cobras coiled and ready to strike on the streets of London, Ohio.

Next year’s raffle Cobra will be a Factory Five, built by Forma cars. Here’s an example of one its nicely finished turnkey, loaded with all sorts of high-tech gear.

London’s local bobbies kept a careful watch over all the Cobras, making sure they parked within the lines and only did burnouts in a designated area.

Planning for the 2019 show is already under way. The event is on the calendar for the Saturday after Father’s Day once again, June 23, 2019. The 2019 raffle car is already making the rounds as well, a Factory Five model built by the professionals at FormaCars from Columbus, Ohio. The new LCS raffle car features modern amenities such as air conditioning, heat, ABS, traction and launch control. We’ll have more details in the near future on the 2019 car, and already have the 2019 LCS date marked on our calendar. A job well done to every one involved with putting on such a great event for such a great cause.

For more information, vist www.londoncobrashow.com.