AC Cobra GT Roadster premieres

AFTER months of teasing and promulgation the AC Cobra GT Roadster has finally been revealed in production form at a global premiere in London.

Making its debut in front of confirmed buyers and customers invited to the exclusive reveal – which was hosted at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, just 40km from the company’s headquarters – the newly designed Cobra GT Roadster is said to have “wowed the crowd” with its extruded aluminium spaceframe chassis, carbon-composite bodywork, and “thunderous” 5.0-litre V8 engine.

Available in both left- and right-hand drive, the new Cobra GT Roadster was penned from a clean sheet to provide what AC Cars says is “a cutting-edge modern sports car … that remains faithful to the spirit of the AC Cobra of the 1960s”.

The fully road-legal vehicle is the result of a multi-million Euro investment sustained over nearly four years, and one that its developers say is intended to be both beautiful and useable.

Just 250 examples of the vehicle will be produced each year, with the first year of production already allocated.

Incorporating modern safety features – and ergonomics – the vehicle is said to be “significantly larger” than the original, accommodating drivers well over 180cm in height. The new chassis has a wheelbase of 2570mm (+284mm), the vehicle measuring 4225mm in length (+110mm) and with an appropriately widened track and centre of gravity.

AC Cars says the model is “extremely light and with exceptionally torsional rigidity”, the carbon-composite body weighing just 50kg (!) to take the vehicle overall wet weight to “just under 1450kg”.

Power comes from a Ford-sourced 5.0-litre V8 offered with naturally aspirated or supercharged induction to develop 338kW/570Nm or 487kW/780Nm – or 233kW/tonne and 336kW/tonne respectively. AC Cars quotes a 0-100km/h of just 3.4 seconds in top-trim, and will offer both six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic transmissions, the latter with steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters.

The vehicle’s cabin has “received much care and devotion” in its design, says the British marque, and features “bespoke details and unique hand-finished elements unseen in the automotive world before”. A careful blend of custom leather upholstery and highly resilient fabrics is said to pay respect to the vehicle’s heritage.

Speaking at the premiere of the AC Cobra GT Roadster, AC Cars chief executive officer, David Conza, said, “Our goal was to surpass the expectations of our esteemed clientele, who have grown accustomed to the finest in automotive luxury”.

“The overwhelmingly positive feedback we received from the attendees confirms that we have well and truly exceeded those expectations.

“The AC Cobra GT Roadster is a testament to our unwavering commitment to excellence. We are delighted that customers could join us from around the world and thank them for placing the utmost faith in us.”

The car is now available to order for clients worldwide.