Performance Car Driving
6+ hours
from
R 4 102
per group
Cobra Experience
Cobra Experience
5
Adrenaline & Extreme ToursEquipment HireSightseeing ToursSelf-Guided Tours & Rentals
9:00 AM - 11:15 AM, 4:30 PM - 5:15 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 5:15 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 5:15 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 5:15 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 5:15 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 5:15 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 11:15 AM
4:30 PM - 5:15 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 11:15 AM
4:30 PM - 5:15 PM
Full view
About
Rent a classic Backdraft Racing Cobra from the Official Backdraft Racing Rentals/Sales Agency in Cape Town, South Africa. The Cobra is a race car from a bygone era, where racing wasn’t managed by computer chips and technology. Take yourself back to the day when it was about raw power. Feel the engines roar vibrate through your body and exhilirate you when you drive this magnificent car. We run a proud fleet of Factory Built Backdraft Racing Cobra's built by hand over 140 day in 2017 they offer a vintage feel with piece of mind with modern motor, brakes and suspension.
Tours and Tickets by Cobra Experience
Contribute
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
5.0
62 reviews
Excellent
61
Very good
0
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
1
Gina U
Clanwilliam, South Africa5 contributions
Oct 2023 • Family
It was a birthday treat from our children and my brother. It was amazing and my husband and I will definitely do it again. We upgraded our package to a full day treat. It wss worth every cent. Joseph who helped us ons Sunday was very helpful and friendly.
Written 31 October 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nicole Simpson
3 contributions
Sep 2023 • Couples
From the moment we arrived at the cobra shop to pick up our pre booked vehicle, service was outstanding. No additional fees were needed apart from the online rental payment. For international driving licenses a passport of driver needs to be provided. Very professional, welcoming, and helpful. We had the best day. Would highly recommend.
Written 3 September 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ob121
London, UK10 contributions
Couldn’t have had a better day out seeing the penguins and Cape of Good Hope. An amazing experience driving along the coastal roads I will do again!!!
Written 14 March 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Thank you for you review, till next time:)
Written 8 May 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
LeeLab
4 contributions
Nov 2022 • Couples
The self drive was amazing the best was being able to do your own thing spend the day feeling like a VIP very Special thank you!!
Written 26 November 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Hi Lee, Thank you
Written 8 May 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Rory Macfarlane
Cape Town Central, South Africa6 contributions
Mar 2021
I cant vouch for the car hire experience but I can vouch for a few other things about this company that should be important to anyone hiring a car from them: trust, honesty, integrity and professionalism. I have a 1989 cobra KCC replica which has given me endless problems. I have not been able to find anybody in the CT area who understands these cars until I got hold of Matthew at Cobra Experience. Long story short - despite it not being there core business Matthew offered to help me get my car sorted and reliable and back on the road. My sense from the first time I met him was that he cared more that I had a great feeling about this car, than he did about the problems he might face in getting her into a decent and reliable state. That process was from start to finish the sort of experience you would expect from a world class company who live their work with passion. The experience of getting my car back on the road was filled with religiously kept promises, fantastic communication, empathy, professionalism and a greater depth of knowledge and determination to solve problems than I have encountered most anywhere else. When you deal with this company you are dealing with guys that don’t just live for the Cobra car, but understand it too. No problem was too big, and Matthew and Jose made this experience so easy and pleasant for me. I have my car back, and for the first time since I have owned it she is going like a dream. Don’t hesitate to support these guys - if you are considering using their services - people who run their businesses like this absolutely deserve your support. You wont be sorry. Thank you guys - I’m in love again 🙏
Written 20 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
bblilly
Vredenburg, South Africa17 contributions
Feb 2021
I had a terrible experience booking the Cobra Experience and would never in my wildest dreams even think of recommending this to ANYONE I know.
From the onset, I struggled to book with an advertised black Friday special as it was not properly loaded on their booking and payment system. Which resulted in huge confusion later and a super delay in a refund for the amount that I booked.
Then I struggled to get anyone to contact me back regarding booking the actual experience. I sent David whatsapps and asked him to send me the details for Matt or at least send Matt my details but no luck. Eventually I had to go into the emails to find Matts details as I was advised that he was the person who would confirm my booking.
So after emailing Matt with no response, I eventually had to call him to make a booking and an excuse was used that they were moving offices and didn't get my emails.
Then I finally made the booking and it was not the car that I had originally booked in terms of the colours that I opted for when I purchased the voucher. I emailed regarding this but received no response from Matt once again.
Then the day of the booking came, I received an auto generated email to say that delivery starts at 9am. So as we do not live in Cape Town we decided to just go down to the Oranjezicht market for breakfast. After breakfast my husband (who I purchased the experience for as a gift) caught a lift with a friend who was interested in purchasing a Cobra himself. When he got there, the office was closed at around 11am. He called me asking for the number of the person who I dealt with so I sent him Matt's number. When my husband called Matt he said that he had already left the office and had started his day with his family already so it would be a very big inconvenience for him to drive back to assist us. When my husband said that we didn't know there was a cut off time for pick up he said that he would be coming back to open for him so that we could collect the car.
After he put the phone down with my husband Matt called me and started screaming at me over the phone. Starting with why I never answered my phone as he tried to call me (which he did but as I was in the very noisy market never heard my phone) and then about how he has been waiting for two hours for us to collect the car from 9am. When I explained that I wasn't aware that there was a cut off time for pick up he started screaming further and personally insulting me, taking me on in regards to my profession (according to him because I am in the hospitality industry, something he could only have seen on my email signature on the emails he never responded to, I should have known better??!!) and about how it is stated on the website that collection is at nine and no later. He refused to listen to any of my reasoning which was that it was NEVER stated that the cut off time for collection was starting at 9am and ending at 9am. If this was sent through on email I would have known, it also doesn't say that the collection has a cut off time on the website so in NO correspondence was this mentioned to me? I would never assume that a car rental space would close during the day because what if a person would like to only use the vehicle for a shorter period and didn't want to drop it off at exactly 5pm, my assumption would be that you as the client would have that flexibility to drop off or pick up as you would like as you are paying a premium for the rental?
As Matt went on saying that he had started his Sunday with his family and was under no circumstances going to come back to assist me, I said that it's fine, then they can just refund the money I paid. After which he started screaming even louder that there would be no refund as we are a no show and we have lost the booking money as a no show penalty fee. He refused to listen to anything I said making it extremely upsetting and very frustrating so eventually when I realised there would be no discussion and no reason and I was being treated like absolute crap and not at all like a customer who has paid a premium for an experience, I politely told him that I would be hanging up the phone.
I called my husband, by now in tears to tell him that he could call Matt as my husband was very confused standing outside the pick up point with me still at the market as Matt told him he would come back to open and then screamed at me saying how he refused, which makes it very clear to me that Matt has absolutely ZERO respect for women and finds it a lot easier to mistreat and bully a woman, but to a man he will speak politely and treat with respect.
In the end we never went on the experience that day. So with the money that we spent on dog sitters, driving from our home in the West Coast to Cape Town and the hotel that we booked to stay in to have the experience was all in vain and a huge expense.
My husband then made contact with David, the owner of the company, and he explained to him what had happened. David seemed shocked in Matt's behavior and said that we would not lose the money, and that he wanted us to come and have the experience and that he would really make it a worthwhile experience for us to apologise for the really bad experience we had had. He even thanked us for pointing out that no where on his correspondence or website it had stated that pick up time is only between specific times and that it would be something they would look into from their side. He also promised to call me and apologise to me directly.
This apology call only happened a week or so after the promise was made. I explained to David that I really had a very bad taste in my mouth working with the company and being treated so poorly and that I think I would rather have a refund as we would again have to book accommodation, drive through for 90minutes and all those expenses need to be added up as well. David then promised that if we came he would really make the experience worthwhile to compensate for the previous bad experience. I said that I would discuss it with my husband and we would see as I was at that point 5 months pregnant and didn't think waiting too late in my pregnancy to do the experience would be such a good idea.
We were convinced by David and the promises he made of making up for what was lost with the first experience so we booked again and off we went. Well, we got absolutely NOTHING to even acknowledge the horrible experiences we had before this. In fact, not a bottle of water, not even an apology from Matt who gave us the car on arrival and drop off. I really did think that the minimum would just be a decent apology for someone who ruined our day, the entire experience and who had left me in tears just because he has no idea how to communicate with his customers.
I was still owed my refund and was promised by Matt to get it first thing on Monday. I eventually had to send an email by Wednesday asking what was going on, with no response, my husband again had to call before anything happened as it was clear by this point that a woman does not deserve the respect of being answered.
I really felt like this was a golden opportunity to just improve on the experience we had with them, but sadly they take no value in their customers and their customer experience and for that reason I would seriously never ever recommend that anyone goes through that hell of working with this company.
From the onset, I struggled to book with an advertised black Friday special as it was not properly loaded on their booking and payment system. Which resulted in huge confusion later and a super delay in a refund for the amount that I booked.
Then I struggled to get anyone to contact me back regarding booking the actual experience. I sent David whatsapps and asked him to send me the details for Matt or at least send Matt my details but no luck. Eventually I had to go into the emails to find Matts details as I was advised that he was the person who would confirm my booking.
So after emailing Matt with no response, I eventually had to call him to make a booking and an excuse was used that they were moving offices and didn't get my emails.
Then I finally made the booking and it was not the car that I had originally booked in terms of the colours that I opted for when I purchased the voucher. I emailed regarding this but received no response from Matt once again.
Then the day of the booking came, I received an auto generated email to say that delivery starts at 9am. So as we do not live in Cape Town we decided to just go down to the Oranjezicht market for breakfast. After breakfast my husband (who I purchased the experience for as a gift) caught a lift with a friend who was interested in purchasing a Cobra himself. When he got there, the office was closed at around 11am. He called me asking for the number of the person who I dealt with so I sent him Matt's number. When my husband called Matt he said that he had already left the office and had started his day with his family already so it would be a very big inconvenience for him to drive back to assist us. When my husband said that we didn't know there was a cut off time for pick up he said that he would be coming back to open for him so that we could collect the car.
After he put the phone down with my husband Matt called me and started screaming at me over the phone. Starting with why I never answered my phone as he tried to call me (which he did but as I was in the very noisy market never heard my phone) and then about how he has been waiting for two hours for us to collect the car from 9am. When I explained that I wasn't aware that there was a cut off time for pick up he started screaming further and personally insulting me, taking me on in regards to my profession (according to him because I am in the hospitality industry, something he could only have seen on my email signature on the emails he never responded to, I should have known better??!!) and about how it is stated on the website that collection is at nine and no later. He refused to listen to any of my reasoning which was that it was NEVER stated that the cut off time for collection was starting at 9am and ending at 9am. If this was sent through on email I would have known, it also doesn't say that the collection has a cut off time on the website so in NO correspondence was this mentioned to me? I would never assume that a car rental space would close during the day because what if a person would like to only use the vehicle for a shorter period and didn't want to drop it off at exactly 5pm, my assumption would be that you as the client would have that flexibility to drop off or pick up as you would like as you are paying a premium for the rental?
As Matt went on saying that he had started his Sunday with his family and was under no circumstances going to come back to assist me, I said that it's fine, then they can just refund the money I paid. After which he started screaming even louder that there would be no refund as we are a no show and we have lost the booking money as a no show penalty fee. He refused to listen to anything I said making it extremely upsetting and very frustrating so eventually when I realised there would be no discussion and no reason and I was being treated like absolute crap and not at all like a customer who has paid a premium for an experience, I politely told him that I would be hanging up the phone.
I called my husband, by now in tears to tell him that he could call Matt as my husband was very confused standing outside the pick up point with me still at the market as Matt told him he would come back to open and then screamed at me saying how he refused, which makes it very clear to me that Matt has absolutely ZERO respect for women and finds it a lot easier to mistreat and bully a woman, but to a man he will speak politely and treat with respect.
In the end we never went on the experience that day. So with the money that we spent on dog sitters, driving from our home in the West Coast to Cape Town and the hotel that we booked to stay in to have the experience was all in vain and a huge expense.
My husband then made contact with David, the owner of the company, and he explained to him what had happened. David seemed shocked in Matt's behavior and said that we would not lose the money, and that he wanted us to come and have the experience and that he would really make it a worthwhile experience for us to apologise for the really bad experience we had had. He even thanked us for pointing out that no where on his correspondence or website it had stated that pick up time is only between specific times and that it would be something they would look into from their side. He also promised to call me and apologise to me directly.
This apology call only happened a week or so after the promise was made. I explained to David that I really had a very bad taste in my mouth working with the company and being treated so poorly and that I think I would rather have a refund as we would again have to book accommodation, drive through for 90minutes and all those expenses need to be added up as well. David then promised that if we came he would really make the experience worthwhile to compensate for the previous bad experience. I said that I would discuss it with my husband and we would see as I was at that point 5 months pregnant and didn't think waiting too late in my pregnancy to do the experience would be such a good idea.
We were convinced by David and the promises he made of making up for what was lost with the first experience so we booked again and off we went. Well, we got absolutely NOTHING to even acknowledge the horrible experiences we had before this. In fact, not a bottle of water, not even an apology from Matt who gave us the car on arrival and drop off. I really did think that the minimum would just be a decent apology for someone who ruined our day, the entire experience and who had left me in tears just because he has no idea how to communicate with his customers.
I was still owed my refund and was promised by Matt to get it first thing on Monday. I eventually had to send an email by Wednesday asking what was going on, with no response, my husband again had to call before anything happened as it was clear by this point that a woman does not deserve the respect of being answered.
I really felt like this was a golden opportunity to just improve on the experience we had with them, but sadly they take no value in their customers and their customer experience and for that reason I would seriously never ever recommend that anyone goes through that hell of working with this company.
Written 9 March 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
This review is nothing but untruthful, we agreed to give you another experience after you missed your time and you showed no respect and returned our car extremly late resulting in a client not being able to take their rental. take it down , you know what really happened , YOUR BAD BEHAVIOUR is inexcusable.
Written 8 May 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Pierre K
Stellenbosch, South Africa9 contributions
Dec 2019
Having watched Ford vs Ferrari with my 15-year-old son, it was a no-brainer to complete the experience for him by taking him on a Peninsula drive in an authentic Cobra car! Though of course not a Daytona or GT40, this was as close as we could get to the thought process of Carol Shelby and his team. We received an excellent on time welcome from Matt at the Rose street home of the Cobra Experience. After being guided smoothly through the preliminaries and being introduced to our drive we set off. It was interesting how many people honked or hollered and waved at the car. This is not an ordinary sports car, it is a motoring legend, we soon realised. Even though may probably did not know what car this was. Easy to drive and hugging the road tightly as the V8 purrs and growls, the Cobra offers real experiences to lovers of a good drive.
We headed over Kloofnek with its beautiful views of CampsBay and the 12 Apostles, out towards the 12 Apostles Hotel along the coastal route and onto Chapmans Peak. You soon realise this is a magnificent combination - driving the Cobra around the Cape Peninsula, which must unquestionably rate as one of the most scenic routes in the world. There are of course many magnificent beaches along the Peninsula from Clifton and Camps Bay, to Llandudno, Noordhoek Beach, Kommetjie, Scarborough, HoutBay. And of course the unique experience of Boulders beach and then Muizenberg. The low centre of gravity Cobra was more than a thrill a mile, an I highly recommend the drive to out of town visitors and locals alike. It is definitely a bucket list experience, not to be missed. And the view coming back on Chapmans Peak out to Hout Bay must be seen in real life. Definitely stop for the photo opportunity. It will frame a great memory.
We headed over Kloofnek with its beautiful views of CampsBay and the 12 Apostles, out towards the 12 Apostles Hotel along the coastal route and onto Chapmans Peak. You soon realise this is a magnificent combination - driving the Cobra around the Cape Peninsula, which must unquestionably rate as one of the most scenic routes in the world. There are of course many magnificent beaches along the Peninsula from Clifton and Camps Bay, to Llandudno, Noordhoek Beach, Kommetjie, Scarborough, HoutBay. And of course the unique experience of Boulders beach and then Muizenberg. The low centre of gravity Cobra was more than a thrill a mile, an I highly recommend the drive to out of town visitors and locals alike. It is definitely a bucket list experience, not to be missed. And the view coming back on Chapmans Peak out to Hout Bay must be seen in real life. Definitely stop for the photo opportunity. It will frame a great memory.
Written 1 January 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wow what a great review, Thank you
Written 8 May 2023
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
Amr Abou Hussein
Dubai, United Arab Emirates55 contributions
Oct 2019 • Couples
Calling all adrenaline junkies out there, this isn’t something you should miss for anything. Quite simply one of the best driving experiences I’ve had in my life. Amazing idea and great value for money. Unforgettable.
Written 30 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wewantmorehols
Walton on the Hill, UK7 contributions
Nov 2019
Absolutely the best way to take in the the beautiful South African coast line down to Cape Point. The car and exhaust note made us smile all day.! Big Thanks to Matt and his team for making the whole process easy. Totally recommend doing this. We will be taking one out on our next visit to Capetown.
Written 23 November 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Wayne
Cape Town, South Africa2 contributions
Oct 2019
From the second the engine roars to life, to the moment you return, and every memory thereafter, there is a huge grin on my face.
We took a brisk drive out to Spier Winefarm, for some coffee and an hour Segway tour of the farm itself. We then hopped next door to Vredenheim, for some gin tasting, before meandering our way through Stellenbosch to the amazing Postcard restraunt, for an amazing lunch. We then wound our way to Devon Valley for a final cup of coffee before heading home.
The day was slightly overcast and windy, with the sun peaking out more often than not, but the drive was invigorating every second of the way.
Thank you David, Mathew and Jose for an awesome experience.
We took a brisk drive out to Spier Winefarm, for some coffee and an hour Segway tour of the farm itself. We then hopped next door to Vredenheim, for some gin tasting, before meandering our way through Stellenbosch to the amazing Postcard restraunt, for an amazing lunch. We then wound our way to Devon Valley for a final cup of coffee before heading home.
The day was slightly overcast and windy, with the sun peaking out more often than not, but the drive was invigorating every second of the way.
Thank you David, Mathew and Jose for an awesome experience.
Written 10 October 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nicole Abuhakmeh
New Cumberland, PA41 contributions
I'd like to rent one to go down to the Cape of Good Hope with a stop at Boulder Beach. Did you have enough included miles to make that trip?
matthewm182
1 contribution
Yes, there is enough included in the day however more miles are available for a very reasonable rate!
Emma20131975
Cape Town Central, South Africa4 contributions
Not sure if I'm looking in the wrong place but where are the contact details? Is the collection point in Camps Bay? Thanks
matthewm182
1 contribution
Collection is in Camps Bay