Reinvented AC Cobra

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A reinvented AC Cobra to be shown later in the year.

All-new 654bhp AC Cobra GT Roadster to arrive in 2023

British-built brawler, due this spring, gets a new chassis, a new look and a hefty power hike

The hallowed AC Cobra will be radically reinvented from the ground up for 2023, 61 years after its original launch, after a three-year, multi-million-pound development programme.

AC Cars – which holds the rights to the Cobra name and claims to be Britain's oldest car manufacturer, at 122 years old – will fully reveal the sports car later in the spring, but Autocar has acquired exclusive images of the model ahead of its launch.

Named the Cobra GT Roadster, it promises to dramatically advance performance, refinement and build quality, courtesy of its newly developed architecture and a much more potent V8 than the Chevrolet engine in the existing AC Cobra 378 Superblower MkIV.

AC has confirmed a choice of V8s: a naturally aspirated unit, the power of which is unconfirmed, and a more powerful supercharged variant producing 654bhp and 575lb ft.

That will be enough to send the sub-1500kg roadster from 0-60mph in around 3.6sec - nearly as quick as a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS.

It can be paired with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a 10-speed automatic.

The V8 is housed in a redesigned, carbonfibre body that's significantly larger than the original, with a wheelbase of 2570mm. It stays largely true to the silhouette and defining cues of the fabled 1960s car but has fresh touches that bring it in line with modern rivals.

www.autocar.co.uk

All-new 654bhp AC Cobra GT Roadster to arrive in 2023 | Autocar

British-built brawler, due this spring, gets a new chassis, a new look and a hefty power hike
www.autocar.co.uk www.autocar.co.uk

Cobra 1.PNGCobra 2.PNGCobra 3.PNGCobra 4.PNGCobra 5.PNG
 
An all-new V8-engined, carbon-bodied AC Cobra is coming

Fancy a snakebite? AC Cars will properly unveil its new Cobra next month…

There have been many generations, iterations and continuations of the AC Cobra since Carroll Shelby first fitted an AC Ace with a Ford-sourced V8 engine in 1962.

And now there’s another one – the all-new AC Cobra GT Roadster is set to arrive in 2024, and it’ll be bolted together by the folks who now own the AC Cars name and have established a new HQ at Donington Park.

Oh, and it’ll be powered by a proper V8 engine that makes 654bhp and 575lb ft of torque. There’s no word on where this engine will come from just yet, but we do know that it’ll be paired with either a six-speed manual or a 10-speed auto gearbox and that the aim is for a 0-60mph time of 3.4 seconds. Weight will be below 1,500kg and it’ll be longer and wider than AC Cars’ most recent Cobras.

The updated Cobra styling is the work of the Icona Design Group and each body will be made from carbon composite wrapped around a new, Italian-designed aluminium spaceframe chassis.


1.PNG2.PNG
 
New 654-HP AC Cobra Cashes in on Boomer Nostalgia

Get your pocketbooks ready, the near $340,000 AC Cobra GT Roadster will officially be revealed in April

If you want an actual Shelby Cobra, you better be prepared to spend some serious cash. Like many millions of dollars. Alternatively, you could buy a replica that may or may not have been well-built and well-sorted. But now there’s a new option if you’re not necessarily attached to the Shelby name: the AC Cobra GT Roadster.

The new AC Cobra comes from AC Cars, which claims to be “Britain’s oldest active vehicle manufacturer.” It won’t be officially revealed until April, but to build anticipation, AC Cars has released a little information on the reborn roadster, including the fact that it gets a 654-hp supercharged Ford V8 and the choice of a six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic. That’s reportedly enough to accelerate from zero to 60 mph in 3.4 seconds.

It certainly won’t be cheap, though. AC Cars says it expects the new Cobra to cost £285,000 in the UK. That would make it more expensive than an Aston Martin DBS or a Bentley Continental GT Speed. So if you’re a normal person who saw this post and thought you might be able to get your hands on an actual Cobra at an attainable price, we’re sorry to disappoint.

jalopnik.com

New 654-HP AC Cobra Cashes in on Boomer Nostalgia

Get your pocketbooks ready, the near $340,000 AC Cobra GT Roadster will officially be revealed in April
jalopnik.com jalopnik.com
 
The all-new carbon-bodied, V8-engined AC Cobra GT Roadster has arrived

Much-awaited model sheds its silk cover in Tottenham and it’s delicious

The AC Cobra GT Roadster has finally landed. The newest iteration of the iconic Cobra looks pretty and sounds pretty special.

Not least because there's a 'thunderous' V8 underneath. Available in right- or left-hand drive, the 5.0-litre engine comes in either naturally aspirated or supercharged form. The former kicks out a not-so-shy 454bhp and 420 lb ft of torque, while the supercharged version punches out 654bhp and 575lb ft torque, enough to deliver a 0-60mph time of 3.4 seconds — half that of the electric Cobra and its instantaneous torque.

There’s a choice of a six-speed manual, or a 10-speed automatic gearbox equipped with shift paddles.
We already knew the chassis and bodywork would be a combination of carbon-composite clad to an extruded aluminium spaceframe, and now we know it weighs just 1,450kg, despite the fact this new AC Cobra GT Roadster is significantly bigger than the original. Its designers have sought to give the open-topped classic better weight distribution and dynamic handling: they've increased the wheelbase by 30cm, the length by 11cm and widened the stance, too.


IMG_5273.jpegIMG_5275.jpegIMG_5276.jpegIMG_5274.jpeg
 
Official: All-new AC Cobra GT brings 654bhp V8

British-built brawler, gets a new chassis, a new look and a hefty power hike

The hallowed AC Cobra has been radically reinvented from the ground up for 2023 – 61 years after its original launch – after a three-year, multi-million-pound development programme.

Named the Cobra GT Roadster, it promises to dramatically advance performance, refinement and build quality, courtesy of its newly developed architecture and a much more potent V8 than the Chevrolet engine in the existing AC Cobra 378 Superblower MkIV.

AC has confirmed a choice of V8s: a 454bhp and 420lb ft naturally aspirated unit and a more powerful supercharged variant producing 654bhp and 575lb ft.

That will be enough to send the sub-1500kg roadster from 0-60mph in around 3.6sec - nearly as quick as a Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS.

It can be paired with either a six-speed manual gearbox or a 10-speed automatic.

www.autocar.co.uk

Official: All-new AC Cobra GT brings 654bhp V8 | Autocar

British-built brawler, gets a new chassis, a new look and a hefty power hike
www.autocar.co.uk www.autocar.co.uk
 
New AC Cobra GT Roadster is a gorgeous blend of retro and modern

The AC Cobra is one of the world’s quintessential sports cars, dating from the 1960s and combining British design with American V8 muscle.

The new AC Cobra GT Roadster aims to keep the tradition going in a modern yet decidedly retro-looking package.

The new model is significantly larger than the original AC Cobra, but it sticks to lightweight fundamentals, with a carbon composite body fitting around an extruded aluminium spaceframe chassis.

Its lightweight construction results in a kerb weight of just 1 450kg, which makes light work for its 5.0-litre V8 engine.

Customers can choose between a normally aspirated version of the aforementioned engine, credited with 338kW and 570Nm, or a supercharged variant that’s good for 488kW and 780Nm. The latter, which is the one you really want, is capable of sprinting from 0-96km/h in 3.4 seconds, AC claims.

 
This is the all-new hard-top AC Cobra, with a 799bhp V8 and a £400k (ish) price tag

Vintage hero gains retrofuturistic styling traits and will soon be offered with 450bhp or 720bhp powertrains

For the first time ever, AC is going to offer the Cobra as a hard-top to commemorate the second coming of something wonderfully mad… and loud. Good news for anyone who wants a vintage roadster that looks like a Cobra but doesn’t want to be perennially soaked each time it rains.

The one pictured is the special ‘Clubsport’ launch edition, which houses a 799bhp V8 and will be limited to just 99 units. Following this will be a choice of two standard Cobra GT Coupes: one with a naturally aspirated 450bhp engine or a much toastier 720bhp one that’s supercharged.

That buxom body remains very close to the original design, albeit with a few new details. Key points include redesigned light signatures and a 427-inspired bonnet scoop, while a few extra air vents are seen along the lower ridges.

The ‘Kammtail’ rear has seen just as much attention too, with bigger (and darker) taillights sitting plush between a new ducktail spoiler and dual centrally mounted exhaust tips. Can’t forget those razor-sharp 10-spokes guarding the flanks, either, though the previously circular wing mirrors have been ditched in favour of a bulkier pair.

 
Old snake, new tricks: driving the AC Cobra MkII

The recreation of the classic roadster is at first glance a faithful facsimile of a 1960s performance benchmark

The timing of my first few yards in AC’s ‘new’ Cobra MkII 347 is spectacularly bad. Gingerly making my way from its temporary base above Brooklands Museum’s historic Finishing Straight, the heavens open with truly biblical fervour.

Any thoughts of a road trip in this factory continuation car that even hints at the Cobra 427’s transamerica thrash in the 1976 film The Gumball Rally are washed away as quickly as some of the loose rubble on Brooklands’ track.

If nothing else, our slightly shorter schlep will now include some of Gumball’s filmic grit as we take on the rain-swept roads of southern England, picking up destinations that have particular relevance to this 2024 Cobra’s heritage.

AC Cars, as you will have seen from Matt Prior’s prototype drive of the new Cobra GT Roadster, is now bringing the marque full pelt into the 21st century.

But the car I’m driving is the Roadster’s genesis, being one of four final MkII Cobras the factory will make and ending a somewhat erratic production run, which started more than 62 years ago in February 1962.

www.autocar.co.uk

Old snake, new tricks: driving the AC Cobra MkII | Autocar

The recreation of the classic roadster is at first glance a faithful facsimile of a 1960s performance benchmark
www.autocar.co.uk www.autocar.co.uk
 
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