Yahoo Autos A New Version of the Old AC Cobra Is Coming Next Year With a 550-hp V8
Earlier this year, AC Cars announced it would build a limited run of new Cobras built to original 1962 specifications. Featuring a 260-cubic-inch V8 like the first Cobras has, the company even planned to use the original tooling. With only nine cars planned for production, very few people would ever get to own one. But now, AC Cars has announced a full production run.
Expected to begin rolling off the assembly line in early 2017, Autocar reports that the Cobra 378 will offer your choice of a 440-horsepower naturally aspirated V8 or a 550-horsepower supercharged version. And while the limited-edition Cobra 260s cost well over a half-million dollars, the Cobra 378s will likely be closer to $100,000.
The Cobra 378s will also receive a number of updates. They'll have a modern ECU, a new transmission, power brakes, and power steering. Even air conditioning will be an option.
"It's a quasi-modern car, you can use it every day if you want," AC Cars owner Alan Lubinsky told Autocar. "It's had significant upgrades but the underlying hardware-the chassis and surrounding parts-are essentially as they were before, just with more modern mechanicals."
But while U.K. customers will be receive theirs in February or March, U.S. orders will take longer to fill. Before we can get our hands on a new Cobra, the Low-Volume Vehicle Manufacturers Act will have to go into effect.
"We are waiting for new US low-volume manufacturing rules to be finalized so we can sell the car there," said Lubinsky. "The car will be sold in America as the Autokraft MkIV Classic, like the popular 1980s model."
If the six-figure price tag is still too big for your budget, don't worry. A less-powerful and presumably more affordable Cobra should be coming soon.
"We are already working on another one that'll be a really good car for more people," Lubinsky promised.
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