AN ICON REIMAGINED - THE NEW AC COBRA GT ROADSTER REVEALED - AND WE LIKE!
Even before I know anything about the history of the AC Cobra, I was a fan. I grew up in Kempton Park and not too far away in Boksburg there was a place that assembled the legit AC Cobra cars for customers. There were always a few seen around on weekends with open pipe rumbling V8s purring around. Also, there used to be a bunch of components for these cars made here in SA, so it makes sense they were around. Some builds were better than others, and some had Chevy powerplants thanks both to personal preference and also back then they were cheaper than Ford motors. A Cobra really should have a Ford lump powering it though, it’s in the rules. Those were old Cobras, but luckily for fans of these classic roadsters, Britain’s oldest active vehicle manufacturer will soon unveil an all-new model under the name of the AC Cobra GT Roadster. We should see the physical car by April, and after that hopefully at car shows the world over. While these initial images show off a Cobra that looks rather the same as the older one, there have been a few changes here and there, a slight nip and tuck. The main difference is that the AC Cobra GT Roadster is now a cutting-edge modern sports car thanks to the changes in technology and engineering processes that keep while the car remains faithful to the spirit of the original AC Cobra from the 1960s.
So the new AC Cobra is stronger and lighter in construction, and a new chassis allows for an improved layout as well as optimized suspension geometry and weight distribution. The looks are the same, but not. The GT was penned by a team of world-class designers that have successfully managed to retain all the right lines and curves of the original design but with a modern twist. The interior includes hand-finished unique elements that AC Cars says are unseen in the automotive world, and the augmentation of analogue instruments with Digital Glass displays is a great modern touch on the classic design. If you’ve ever been in or driven a Cobra, it’s fun but doesn’t rate high on the comfort scale, and that leads to a substantial improvement in ergonomics so the cabin better accommodates drivers of all sizes and the space afforded by the new chassis design allows a high level of comfort and refinement. Keeping the original recipe going, the refined AC Cobra GT Roadster sees fitment of a Ford powerplant with eight cylinders in play, and so the Ford Coyote V8 is the weapon of choice. The 5.0-litre V8 is rated at 480 kW with 780 Nm of torque and it can be had mated to either a 6-speed manual or a 10-speed automatic transmission, as seen in the Ford Mustang GT models. With the scales tipping at a mere 1 500 kg, the revised Cobra is said to be able to hit 100 km/h in less than 3.5 seconds. David Conza, Chief Executive Officer of AC Cars, said: “Developing and delivering a car worthy of the AC Cobra name has not been an easy task, but I am delighted and immensely proud of what we have achieved. This is a sports car like no other, and we have employed some of the industry’s leading designers and engineers to craft an outstanding automobile that is extremely beautiful as well as fantastically quick and amazing to drive. We wanted to respect the AC Cobra’s heritage, and while the design has taken influence from the restomod approach it has a more sophisticated feel in keeping with a classic British roadster. This, along with the race-bred personality of the original AC Cobra, means we have produced an unrivalled vehicle that’s totally modern and relevant to today’s connoisseurs – a true 21st-century sports car.”
Take a look at the YouTube video that shows a bit of the beauty created by Britain’s oldest active vehicle manufacturer AC Cars, but only of the cars they currently create, new content featuring the all-new (sort of) AC Cobra GT Roadster will only be seen after the car's actual launch and physical model can be filmed/shot: The iconic British roadster | AC Cars Official
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