He says they have been having some serious problems with the Cobra engines (hence the recent recall), and he basically told me that until they swithc to an entirely new motor design in 2-3 years the current Cobra engines are going to be nothing but POS (so what else is new?). As in, they will fall apart rather quickly...I don't remember the details but there is a mjor design flaw. He told me to stay the fuck away from Cobras for a few years.
Also the 2001 (?) Cobra R was a limited production and were all spoken for before they even began production (per Car and Driver), so its pointless to advise someone to try and find one. I believe the last time they were made prior to this model was in 1993.