AC Cars is making a slow but apparently steady return to the world of the living. In 2022, David Conza invested in Acedes Holdings, LLC., the company that controls AC Cars, and became the CEO of the iconic British brand. The daring Swiss entrepreneur decided the company should also offer a hardtop vehicle, which would be based on the famous Cobra roadster and inspired by a one-off machine that very few people must know or remember: the AC Cobra A98 Coupé. The result will be the AC Cars Cobra GT Coupe.
The Cobra GT Coupe was reportedly inspired by the A98 Coupé, but the only similarities they share are the hardtop and the Kammtail design. This feature intends to reduce drag and help achieve a higher top speed. In a way, it is easy to understand why the company followed this path. After all, the AC Cobra is a much more iconic vehicle than the A98, a car that is as famous for reaching 180 mph (290 kph) on the M1 as it is for being involved in a crash that killed three people in the 1964 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Until AC Cars starts delivering the production hardtop model, the A98 will remain the only coupe the company ever made.
The new Cobra GT Coupe will follow the same construction method as the GT Roadster. In other words, it will have a carbon fiber body built over an aluminum chassis. AC Cars states that this component is “extremely light.” Keeping mass as low as possible is not the only advantage this chassis offers. The British company states it also ensures “exceptional torsional rigidity.” However, we have to say that something does not allow the car’s mass to be as low as it used to be in the past. Would it be the V8 or new safety regulations? Bear in mind that the original Cobra weighed 916 kg (2,019 lb).
AC Cars said that the curb weight of the Cobra GT Coupe will only be confirmed ahead of production. The roadster weighs 1,400 kilograms (3,086.5 pounds), so the hardtop has the potential to weigh just a little more than that. However, AC Cars announced a limited series called Clubsport Edition. We have the impression that it will be the first version of the Cobra GT Coupe available to the public, but AC Cars did not make that very clear. We’ll consider that this is the case.
This limited derivative has the goal of tipping the scale at 1,450 kg (3,196.7 lb). That’s far from being lightweight, but maybe that’s how things are and will be from now on. Considering the Clubsport Edition is focused on high performance, it may have structural reinforcements and aerodynamic equipment that will make it heavier than the regular Cobra GT Coupe. We’ll only know for sure whether the Cobra GT Coupe has a structural roof or just a carbon fiber cover over a spaceframe structure when the vehicle is presented. AC Cars said it expects to deliver the first units of the Clubsport Edition by the end of 2025 and that the regular Cobra GT Coupe will arrive soon after the 99 units of the limited series are delivered.
Photo: AC Cars
The Clubsport Edition will have a V8 engine delivering 810 PS (799 hp), probably the same 5-liter supercharged engine that the Cobra GT Roadster offers, only with more pressure and all the other necessary changes the engine will need to resist the higher performance demand. As for the regular Cobra GT Coupe, it will offer two engine options, both of them V8s. The entry-level cars will deliver 456 PS (450 hp), while the more powerful car will have a supercharged V8 pumping out 730 PS (720 hp). AC Cars talks about an evolution of the engines the Cobra GT Roadster uses, but either that does not relate to the power or is limited to the supercharged option.
The Cobra GT Roadster has a naturally aspirated 5-liter V8 that delivers 460 PS (454 hp), which means it is more powerful than the engine that the Cobra GT Coupe will present. On the other hand, the supercharged V8 is more powerful for the coupe than it is for the roadster, which counts on 663 PS (654 hp). It’s not a bad number, mind you, but it’s still lower than what the Cobra GT Coupe will have, nonetheless. Interested? Make sure you have enough for the £325,000 (almost $414,000) and taxes that the most affordable Cobra GT Coupe will cost you in the UK. If you are in a rush, save more cash: the Clubsport Edition will cost you way more than that.
