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AC Working On Continuation Series Cobra, 9 Units In the Offing

Back when power steering was a commodity and disc brakes were the specialty of high-performance cars, a man called Carroll Shelby created an instant classic in the form of the Cobra. More than half a decade after CSX 2000 rolled off the assembly line, the original Cobra will be born again as a continuation series.
2017 AC Cobra continuation series 21 photos
Photo: Autocar.co.uk
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This information comes courtesy of Alan Lubinsky, the man who bought AC Cars in 1996, changed the outfit’s name to AC Automotive, then proceeded with building modern iterations of the timeless V8-powered roadster.

Speaking to Autocar, Alan declared: “We’re passionate about building the legacy cars exactly to the original specification. We’ve even managed to find a source of brand-new 260-cubic-inch (4.3-liter) V8s for this project — and I can assure you that wasn’t easy.”

So yeah, this is more of a work-in-progress rather than your run-of-the-mill rumor. What Alan told the publication is the first clue we have on the all-new AC Cobra. Just like the first 75 units of the Shelby Cobra Mk1, the 9-unit strong limited production run will be motivated by the Windsor V8.

The 260 V8 was introduced in 1962, then it was phased out after the model year 1964. Roughly 600,000 engines were produced. With hotter camshaft timing and higher compression, plus a four-barrel carburetor, the 260 V8 is good for a SAE gross-rated 260 horsepower and 269 lb-ft (365 Nm) of torque. Not that impressive by modern standards, but do remember that the Cobra weighs less than a tonne. Power-to-weight ratio is the name of the game and, for what it’s worth, the reason why the Cobra has always been a scary car.

To be built at the AC Heritage site in Surrey, as in very near from the original factory in Thames Ditton, the first continuation series cars will be delivered “halfway through next year.” All of them will be fabricated from aluminum.

Pricing? £500,000 before taxes, which is just about $670,000 a pop. Then again, the very first example of the Cobra, the one owned by Carroll Shelby, sold for a mind-boggling $13.75 million. Don’t know about you, but $670,000 is a pretty fair priced considering that the lucky bastards who will buy these things will own virtually the same machine Carroll drove back in the day.
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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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