2011 Carlisle Show Report

Customers Take Center Stage at this Year’s Show

The Ohio C-Car Club displayed their 2011 give-a-way car which is a replica of
one of the most famous 427s of all time, Dick Smith’s #198. Photo Courtesy of the Ohio C-Car Club.

The annual Carlisle Import and Replica Nationals was a big success this year and the weather was surprisingly pleasant. Saturday was 80° and sunny and the crew from Factory Five was joined by a number of very well-built customer cars in our booth and on the fairgrounds.

In the Factory Five main booth, we displayed a base Mk4 Roadster kit “as shipped” complete with all the boxes, body, frame, and aluminum panels. The kit was delivered to customer Butch Shoemaker from Hagerstown, MD after the show.

Next to the Mk4 kit, the Ohio C-Car Club displayed their 2011 charity give-a-way car benefitting the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Throughout the weekend, club members sold raffle tickets for the car. Click here to get more information on how you can buy a raffle ticket and win this car. On the other side was the Factory Five 2008 SEMA-winning Hot Rod followed by Glenn Martin’s highly customized Gen 1 GTM and Bob Dilks show winning Type 65 Coupe.

Outside on the main fairgrounds, over 25 Factory Five customers gathered including some very impressive cars like a twin-turbo powered GTM and some show winning Roadsters. Also in the field was last year’s “Best in Show” winning Factory Five GTM owned by Bill Noeth. Click here for last year’s story on Bill.

We have been attending the Carlisle Import and Replica Nationals show at Carlisle since 1996, when it was THE place to go to see C-car replicas and other kit makes. Today, the show is not as big as it used to be and the industry has undergone a tremendous number of changes, but still it is a great place to go to see the very latest offerings in the kit car industry.

Huge thanks to the customers who attended with their cars and helped in our booth.

Jason Lavigne
Factory Five Sales & Technical Support

The Ohio C-Car Club has generously built and is raffling a Factory Five Mk4 “Dick Smith #198” replica.

Ohio C-car Club member George Dalton explains the details of the raffle car.

Factory Five’s Josh Dione was one hand to help customers understand what comes in our packages.

Above and below: Eric Perchak drove his twin turbo GTM 150 miles to the Carlisle show.

Above and below: Factory Five Roadsters dominated the customer entries and Saturday was the PERFECT day at Carlisle.

The booth was crowded and busy both Friday and Saturday.

Factory Five’s technical support specialist Dan Golub was on hand to help customers understand the product.

Factory Five customer Bob Dilks brought this absolutely beautiful Type 65 Coupe to display in our booth.

Factory Five customer Bob Dilks won a very nice “Standard of Excellence” award from the Carlisle Show.

Factory Five’s Josh Dione helped load Butch Shoemaker’s Mk4 kit Saturday night.

Above and below: Factory Five’s Josh and Dan taking a break in the ’33 Hot Rod at the end of the day.

Latest Factory Five News

Factory Fives Take 1st & 2nd at Chicago World of Wheels!

Factory Five customers Jason H. and Pat S. were awarded 1st and 2nd Place at the World of Wheels Chicago event this year! Jason shared the news on the Cobra Owners of Illinois (COIL) Facebook group page saying, “Great day for the club!” Jason was also presented another award in addition to earning 1st Place with his Mk4 Roadster. “So something crazy happened last night. I didn’t even go to the award ceremony because it’s really when you look around and think it’s not a competition with some of these other guys,” wrote Jason. “But last night they awarded me… Read More »

Read More

Chris H. Scores Top 3 Finish at Sick Week!

“A little over ten years ago I watched the Factory Five Racing delivery truck pull into my driveway. At that time I never would have imagined the impact a single car would have on my life” – Chris Hein. Chris Hein attended the 2026 Sick Week event, and earned a Top 3 finish with his storied Factory Five ’33 Hot Rod drag car! Chris’ Hot Rod is powered by a 388 twin turbo LS with a T-56 6-speed manual transmission. His best pass at Sick Week was a 8.58 with an average of 8.82 resulting in a third place finish… Read More »

Read More

2026 Kick-Off Sale!

2026 is off to a great start, and the team wants to keep the momentum going! They have put together a sale for all of our kits to help you build your car your way this year. Score a Free IRS Upgrade OR Save $2,026 Off Options on Mk5 Roadsters, Mk4 Roadsters, Type 65 Coupe, and ’33 Hot Rod To ensure your finest ride is possible, we are offering FREE IRS Upgrades (up to $3,199 in value). Our Independent Rear Suspension is the best suspension configuration Factory Five has to offer. This upgrade package includes: OR you can save $2,026… Read More »

Read More
Top