The seven books
The catalogue descends in order: from the founding dream, through the cars that say the snake out loud, to the names nobody has dared use yet. You may read it in any order. It was assembled to be read in this one.
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I
Genesis
The dream that was written down at three in the morning
Before there was a car there was a word, and the word was Cobra, and it arrived unbidden in the sleep of a chicken farmer from East Texas.
4 entries · Shelby Cobra · Shelby 427 Cobra Super Snake · Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe … -
II
The Coiled
Cars that say the snake out loud
No metaphor, no hedging, no plausible deniability. These machines are named for snakes and would like you to know it.
15 entries · Dodge Viper · Mitsuoka Orochi · Dodge Viper GTS-R … -
III
The Venom
Named for the bite, not the beast
A rarer sect. These cars skip the animal entirely and name themselves after the chemistry — the consequence without the creature.
2 entries · Hennessey Venom GT · Hennessey Venom F5 -
IV
Heraldry
Serpents worn on the chest, not spoken with the mouth
Some marques never say snake. They simply wear one, forever, on every bonnet they have ever made.
5 entries · Alfa Romeo — the Biscione · TVR Chimaera · SsangYong — Twin Dragons … -
V
The Adversaries
Machines named for the things that eat snakes
A bestiary is incomplete without its predators. Here are the cars named specifically, and sometimes spitefully, for whatever kills the thing in Book II.
5 entries · De Tomaso Mangusta · The Snake and the Mongoose · Plymouth Road Runner … -
VI
Apocrypha
Denied at the gate
Everyone assumes these are snakes. None of them are snakes. The Ophidiary is not cruel about it, but it is firm.
12 entries · SSC Tuatara · Chevrolet Corvette Stingray · Wiesmann — the Gecko … -
VII
The Unclaimed
Names still waiting for a chassis
Every great snake that no manufacturer has yet had the nerve to use. Consider this a menu. Consider this a dare.
12 entries · Adder — unclaimed · Mamba — unclaimed · Taipan — unclaimed …