AC Cobra 378 enters production, more modern car in the works

The new old AC Cobra 378 has just entered production at AC Cars’ factory in Germany.

Based on the MkIV Cobra, the newish Cobra 378 is powered by a 6.2-litre (378 cubic inch) V8 in both naturally aspirated and supercharged trims. The former version will have around 330kW of power, while the supercharged V8 will be good for 410kW.

Speaking to Autocar, Alan Lubinsky, owner of AC Cars, noted that the Cobra 378 will be “a quasi-modern car” that’s usable on a daily basis. While the car’s “underlying hardware – the chassis and surrounding parts – are essentially as they were before”, the mechanical package has been brought into something resembling the modern age.

To that end, the Cobra 378 features an electronic control unit (ECU) for the engine, power steering, power brakes, and a new manual transmission. Buyers can also specify air conditioning, if they so desire.

At this stage, sales have been confirmed for Europe and the UK. The company is working on low volume compliance for the US, where the car will be sold as the Autokraft MkIV Classic. AC Cars is also looking to sell the Cobra 378 in Hong Kong and mainland China.

The Cobra 378 will have a starting price of around 85,000 pounds ($138,300) in the UK, with the first customer deliveries scheduled for February 2017.

Lubinsky confirmed to the British magazine that AC Cars is working on a more modern interpretation of the Cobra that will be more user friendly and “a really good car for more people”.

Cover image: 1999 Autocraft AC Cobra MkIV by Davocano on Flickr.

Original Article