AC Cars

AC Cobra is an iconic British sports car that has been around for almost six decades now. Back in the day, Carroll Shelby convinced AC Cars and Ford to join hands and create a sports car that could take on the likes of the Corvettes and the Ferraris on the race track. The car is still quite popular, with even replicas selling quite well.

With changing times, AC Cars has also decided to jump the wagon and electrify this iconic sports car. Moniker’d the AC Cobra Series 4–electric, the company calls it ‘The AC Cobra updated for a new age’. It doesn’t come cheap, though, starting at over $200,000.

LEGO has come up with some pretty incredible ideas in the past, one of which is creating a space for fans and enthusiasts alike to propose projects. In the past, we’ve seen proposals like a BMW E30 M3, a Fiat 500 F, a Military M151 MUTT, a NASA Mars Rover, and a Caterham Super Seven. Now, another enterprising LEGO builder, shimon430, is proposing a LEGO build that will undoubtedly gain some traction. Ladies and gentlemen, feast your eyes on this 1:14 scale LEGO 1947 AC Cobra.

It’s not the first Shelby Cobra proposal to come out of LEGO Ideas - past offerings from builders Eugenio and Mathieub have failed to get any traction - but for what it’s worth, shimon430’s proposal may very well be the most detailed LEGO version of the iconic AC Cobra I’ve ever seen. The builder says that it’s the most complex LEGO project he’s ever done, and it’s hard not to disagree because the finished product looks exceptional, right down to the remarkable details on the car’s body and interior. Even better, shimon430’s AC Cobra has plenty of working features, a goal the builder accomplished by combing the best elements of LEGO’s Technic and System lines. The end result is something that’s certainly worth voting for. As it stands, it’s already garnered 422 supports, leaving it just a little more than halfway to its goal of garnering 1,000 supports. Even better the proposal will be live for another 421 days so there should be enough time for LEGO fans all over the world to help shimon430 bring his LEGO 1947 AC Cobra proposal to life.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

The annual Goodwood Member’s Meeting is arguably one of the greatest car shows you need to attend if you’re a sucker for classic race cars, but the event isn’t always fun and games. This year’s meeting was no exception, and several crashes occurred on the track. One of them saw an original AC Cobra leave the tarmac and crash nose first into a tire wall during the Graham Hill Trophy.

The Cobra was driven by Karsten Le Blanc, a highly experienced driver with many years of endurance racing on his resume. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to stop the Cobra from plowing into the tire wall after locking the brakes before entering the grass area. The impact was quite severe, causing the car to bounce off the wall several feet before coming to a halt. The good news is that Le Blanc walked away from the scene, but the same can’t be said about the Cobra, which suffered extensive damage to its front end.

While it’s always sad to see classic cars such as this get smashed on or off the track, we can at least rejoice that Le Blanc’s Cobra isn’t an authentic coupe, of which only nine were built in 1963. Still, we do hope that the silver-painted Cobra will bring its retrofitted roof back to the race track soon enough.

To say we absolutely love every Shelby Cobra to death is an understatement. This also breeds a little hatred in our hearts for those that take a hacksaw to them and start modifying stuff. However, here are some modifications to Shelby Cobras that we can stomach and some that we completely fall in love with at first sight. Magnis Jinstrand’s modified Shelby Cobra just happens to fall squarely in the latter classification…

This beautiful example of automotive genius boasts a disgustingly sexy 6.0-liter Mercedes V-12 with an equally disgusting loud-mouthed supercharger strapped to its intake. There’s no information on the power pushed out by this mean machine, but judging by the above video, we would have to estimate it to be in the 700-horsepower range.

The exposed supercharger really just does it for us. Not only does it look awesome, but it is about the only whining that I can say I want to hear while driving a car. This blower obliges by providing plenty of it in audible goodness.

We are unsure what other modifications this Cobra has on it and we are also unsure if this is actually a real AC Cobra or not. Chances are that it’s a kit car sitting on a custom chassis, especially given how well it handles. Regardless of its authenticity, it is still one sexy beast. We will update you if we happen to come up with any of the vehicle’s specs. Until then, crank your speakers up and enjoy.

The original AC Shelby Cobra debuted back in 1961 in a joint venture between AC, a company owned by famed racecar driver Carroll Shelby, and Ford. An interesting fact is that had it not been for Chevy trying to protect its sacred Corvette model, the AC Shelby Cobra would have ended up being a Chevy-powered machine. As it ended up, Chevy turned down AC, and Ford stepped in to help power the Cobra.

The AC Shelby Cobra was a short-lived project that lasted only three generations between 1961 and 1967. AC managed to hang on for another 17 years before closing up shop in 1984. During the fire sale that took place following AC’s closing, Autokraft snatched up all of the toolings and spare parts of the failed company, which allowed it to become a parts reseller and replica car builder.

Autokraft’s replicas were so awesome and respectful to the history of the AC Cobra that the Hurlock family, the family that purchased the AC name, sold off its closely guarded rights to the name to Autokraft in 1986. This sale officially made all Autokraft Cobras the real deal, and not just the replicas of the past.

Staying true to the sequence of the original AC Shelby Cobras, Autokraft dubbed this model the AC Cobra MkIV – the prior three Cobras were dubbed MkI, MkII, and MkIII. Despite the fact that the MkIV Cobra was produced for a decade, only 480 models ever made it to the street, making this sometimes called “kit car” just about as rare as the original Shelby version.

With how rare these cars are, it is typically a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to snag one up. Well, RM Auctions is making this a possibility at its Dingman Collection auction on June 9th through June 10th, 2012 in Hampton, New Hampshire.

So how does this replica car company turned legit Cobra builder stack up today?

Click past the jump to read our full review.

It’s been a while since we last heard anything about AC Cars, but they just made quite a comeback with the unveiling of the 378 GT Zagato at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show. Their new super car will initially be offered in Europe only, but AC plans to go worldwide soon.

AC and Zagato joined forces for the first time back in 1957 when they created the AC Ace Bristol Zagato one-off. And now their latest creation is as impressive as the first one. If the exterior design looks familiar, it’s because the AC 378 GT Zagato is based on the Zagato Perana Z-One - the concept unveiled at last year’s Geneva Show.

The 378 GT Zagato is powered by a GM sourced 6.2-liter V8 engine tuned to deliver a total of 434 HP. With a total weight of 3230 lbs, the car will sprint from 0 to 60 mph in under 4 seconds and will be capable of hitting a top speed of 185 mph.

In Europe, the AC 378 GT Zagato will be priced at €109,990 - about $145,000 at the current exchange rates. The coupe version will be immediately followed by a roadster.

The AC 378 GT Zagato will be displayed at the 2012 Pebble Beach Concours next to the classic AC Ace Bristol Zagato.

Awesome donuts come in many shapes and forms, but this dude definitely performed something we’ve never seen before. And that’s saying a lot, because we’ve seen some pretty sick donuts in our time.

The video certainly speaks for itself; there’s a man behind the wheel of an AC Cobra - and he’s doing some pretty sick donuts around a center console.

There’s not much words to describe this stunt, except that we sincerely hope that the man doing the donuts will also find a way to clean all that rubber he left behind on the wooden floor.

Apart from that little concern about cleaning the floor - and how he got the Cobra in that space in the first place - we don’t see anything on this video that would make us call the superintendent anytime soon.

If anything, we’d probably just caution the driver to be a little more discrete with all the rubber burning.

In the latest episode of his show, Jay Leno got behind the wheels of the new 2012 Iconic AC Roadster. The car was driven at the Boca Raton Concours d’Elegance event in Florida where Jay Leno had the chance to talk with the guy responsible for this project.

AC Roadster is powered by a 7.0-liter V-8 from Ford’s SVO division that delivers 825 horsepower and 660 lb/ft of torque mated to a six-speed manual transmission. Enough energy to sprint the car from 0 to 60 mph in less than three seconds and to a top speed in excess of 200 mph.

The question remaining is if there will be enough people willing to pay $475,000 for a car that according to Jay May is not just another replica.

The company AC Cars has been around longer than most of us have been alive, that is unless a 100-plus year old is gleefully reading our pages. Unlikely, but you never know.

Anyway, the brand’s most popular model is the AC Cobra, a car that has spurned many knock-offs - both cheap and authentic – with most of them falling by the wayside in a matter of years. There’s a saying that symbolically applies to this: “often imitated, never duplicated”.

Sometimes, though, there’s a car that comes close to the original, awesome enough to warrant a license from AC Cars themselves. This is where we introduce you to the 2012 Iconic AC Roadster. Built in Livonia, Michigan, the Iconic AC Roadster blends old-school craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology, producing a car that’s an aesthetic throwback to the olden days with the speed to put most of today’s supercars to shame.

Hit the jump to check out the AC Roadster’s specs.

James Bond may have gotten all the fame – and the ladies, for that matter - but the man behind the secret agent, Ian Fleming, certainly doesn’t need any introductions himself.

The latter may not be as famous as the man he created, but for those within the auto industry, Fleming holds a soft spot in our hearts for his love of cars. You can even say that Bond, when it comes to automobile taste, is a reflection of his creator. Fleming was known to have owned a number of Bentleys in his life and at last week’s Bonhams’ Goodwood revival sale, a car that once belonged to the beloved author was put up for auction.

That car was an AC Aceca Coupe, one of only six surviving models anywhere in the world. Knowing that Fleming formerly owned it, bidding for the Aceca Coupe was fast and heavy. In the end, the AC Aceca Coupe was sold for an impressive £80,000, which is somewhere around $125,000 at the current exchange rates.

We don’t know if we’d shell out that much money to buy a car, but considering the history and the name – and status – of the man behind James Bond, whoever won the AC Aceca Coupe probably isn’t complaining a whole lot.

Makers of the classic American GT racing icon, AC Cars have recently revealed their sixth generation Cobra at the Top Marques car show in Monaco. The MkVI is an open-top sports car based on the design of the Le Mans winning AC Cobra built by Carroll Shelby in the 1960’s featuring many of the original car’s physical characteristics while incorporating a lot of modern technology under the skin.

The AC Cobra MKVI will be offered in two versions: GT and GTS. The GT will get a 6.2 Liter V8 that will produce a maximum output of 437 HP, while the GTS will deliver a ground pounding 647 HP. Weighing in at only 1,025 Kg, the lightweight GTS sports car is capable of hitting 60 MPH from a standstill in approximately 3.3 seconds.

The new Cobra was built incorporating an all new aluminum body construction featuring a light weight gull wing hardtop.

Press release after the jump.

The Ace, a graceful, high performance, all metal two seater which is designed to compete head on with the products of Jaguar, Aston Martin, Mercedes and Porsche, has had one of the longest gestation periods of any car at the show. Conceived and initially put into limited pre-production some years ago by AC’s then owners, the Ace was completely re-engineered by AC Car Group after it acquired the business in late 1996. A revised prototype was shown at the London Motor Show in 1997 but this year-s Birmingham show sees the Ace in final production guise.

AC Car Group is based in Weybridge, Surrey close to the historic Brooklands race track. The company’s history can be traced to a South London workshop which began car production in 1901. The brutally fast Ford V8-engined AC Cobra (in pre-speed limit days it reached 196mph on the M1!) was devised by AC in conjunction with Texan racing driver Carroll Shelby. Now throughly updated, its unique blend of performance and style has made the AC Cobra a true classic car.