AC Cobra GT Roadster: the legendary sports car is back, younger than ever

Coinciding with AC Cars’ 122nd anniversary and after more than three years of development and investment, the legendary sports car of the 1960s returns to the spotlight under the name AC Cobra GT Roadster. According to the brand itself, this model combines speed, agility and balance with comfort and practicality, without abandoning the features that defined the original.

The new AC Cobra keeps its DNA intact in both looks and performance, maintaining the original proportions of the cars that left the Thames Ditton factory between 1962 and 1966, its muscular wheel arches and its unmistakable silhouette, no matter which side you view it from.

A more contemporary look

From the front, the modern Cobra features a new bumper with the distinctive large oval grille, a smaller pill-shaped opening in the lower section and two more vertical openings on either side, combined with the iconic round headlights, which in this version use LED technology, and a bonnet with an air intake to improve heat dissipation from the V8 engine beneath it.

The entire lower front section, the wheel arch edges, the sills and the rear area all feature carbon fibre inserts that give it that exclusive, modern and distinctive touch so appealing in a car of this kind. In profile, these elements highlight the look of its modern alloy wheels, behind which sits a front braking system made up of 394 mm discs with six-piston calipers and a rear system with 378 mm discs and four-piston calipers.

At the rear, the new AC Cobra GT Roadster features LED tail lights with a design almost identical to the original, though more modern, a sporty diffuser in carbon fibre that houses the two round exhaust outlets, and the safety roll hoops behind the front seats, which were a must for a version like this.

The interior and heart of the AC Cobra GT Roadster

Inside, the modern Cobra features bucket seats in carbon fibre upholstered in leather with AC Cars logos on the headrests, a simple and very sporty dashboard with an instrument cluster made up of numerous analogue gauges, a steering wheel in carbon fibre, Alcantara and aluminium, and the option of a manual transmission system that promises to be a real delight.

Under the Cobra’s bonnet, AC Cars has fitted the 5.0-litre Coyote V8 engine Ford, to which it has added a supercharger kit that raises its output to a full 663 CV of power and 780 Nm of torque. As already mentioned, it can be paired with a six-speed manual gearbox or a 10-speed automatic, all for a kerb weight of 1,400 kg. With all this, the AC Cobra GT Roadster achieves 0 to 60 mph (0-96 km/h) in just 3.4 seconds.

Finally, the price at which this model goes on sale will be £285,000, or roughly €321,903 at the current exchange rate.