Many petrol heads are familiar with the AC Cobra’s history. AC Cars is a British sports car company that was founded since 1901 and was no stranger to making sports cars that ruled the racetracks. In 1961, legendary American race car driver Carroll Shelby approached AC Cars and asked if they could build him a car that he can fit an American V8 engine in. In the meantime, he also approached Chevrolet for an engine but, fearing that the new car would rival the Corvette, Chevrolet declined his request. Ford on the other hand, wanted exactly something that would compete with the Corvette and therefore offered Shelby their new lightweight ‘Windsor’ V8 engine. AC Cars also came through with a car, and a legend was born. The Cobra went on to enjoy a very successful racing career and it will forever be in the hall of fame of important sports cars.
Despite its well-known history, the AC Cobra was one of the most difficult cars to research for today’s review. There are a number of reasons for this. First of all, like many independent car manufacturers of the time, AC Cars went through a number of liquidations and ownership changes. Secondly, the Cobra model itself had many different variations, from the early prototype cars to all the different versions before the MK IV that we are reviewing today. In addition to that, as there is practically no copyright to the design, there are lots of kit cars out there, some with Shelby’s approval, some without. I have even seen one based on the BMW Z3 for sale here in Hong Kong before!
The MK IV has a pretty interesting history though. By the 1970’s, AC Cars had already stopped servicing and producing the Cobra. One of their employees who was responsible for the Cobra line, Brian Angliss, came out and set up his own shop to service and restore Cobras. Due to Brian’s knowledge with the model, he quickly made a reputation for himself as the man to go to for these cars. In particular, Brian was able to purchase original Cobra tooling, parts, and moulds from AC Cars factory due to his relationship with them, making his work on the cars ever so authentic. By the 1980’s, Brian’s Cobra business was so great that he decided to incorporate a new company called AutoKraft, a joint venture with Ford, and started producing the MK IV Cobra. By 1986, he was also able to acquire the name AC Cars when it went into liquidation and therefore the genuine, legitimate ‘AC Cobra’ was reborn, in the form of the MK IV. AutoKraft continued to build the MK IV until 1996, when it too, was unable to avoid the demise of its predecessors and went into liquidation.
AutoKraft made a total of 480 MK IV Cobras, the one we have here today being one of the last ones made in 1996. This is significant because the MK IV Cobras are the very last ones made in the same way as they made the originals – handmade and with aluminimum. The Cobras that came after are made in fiberglass. This particular car went through quite a bit of a roller coaster throughout its life. Owned by the same owner since new, the car was first enjoyed around English B roads before being brought back to Hong Kong by the owner a few years later. In 2014, during one of Hong Kong’s mega typhoons, the owner’s home garage was completely flooded, drowning the Cobra and taking along with it an Aston Martin DB9 Volante and a Ferrari 458 Spider. While the latter two can be written off, the owner rightfully did not have the heart to do that with the Cobra, and therefore sent it back to the UK to a specialist called Dragonwheels for a thorough restoration.
Dragonwheels is known for their attention to detail and pursuit for originality, therefore this was no 2-year rush restoration. They tried to find genuine parts for everything, and if that cannot be done, they would fabricate the parts in the most original way possible. As such, in the end the restoration took a massive 7 years to complete. The car today is in all original spec except for one thing – the engine. As expected, the drowned engine could not be salvaged, therefore a similar 5.0L Ford V8 engine was sourced from another specialist, Knights Engineering. This engine is, however, race-tuned and produces a mind-blowing 400HP versus the original 250HP.
How does the 400HP feel on a 1,000KG car then? Well, first off I was not a bit surprised that the car only weighs only about 1,000KG – the interior feels very bare and the doors are ultra-thin. It actually really reminded of the time I drove an Austin Healey Sprite “Frogeye”, except this has more than four times the horsepower.
Given the power-to-weight ratio, I was worried the car will be hard to drive and that the lightweight chassis will be unable to keep the 400HP firmly on the road. Flashes of the final scenes of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s ‘Bad Boys’ kept appearing in my mind before the roads opened up (the baddie raced Will Smith’s 964 Turbo 3.6 down an airstrip in a very fiberglass-y Cobra kit car before smashing it into the wall). Fortunately, my worries were unfounded and the car was actually very good to handle. Clutch, brakes, controls, gearshifts are all decently weighted, and grip was good. That engine though, takes the cake. I have driven a number of American V8’s before but none sounded so intoxicating. It is loud, and in an open cockpit the sound consumes pretty much the entire driving atmosphere. Perhaps it is because this engine is no ordinary Ford engine but a race-tuned one, but it just urges you to step on it at every opportunity, and step on it I did. It revs freely to redline and really shifts the car. The torque is also incredible and what gear you are in at any given time is totally irrelevant, for the car just goes when you step on it. The best bit is at no point did the car scare me or made me feel like it is getting away from me. It just stuck firmly to the road and kept going. A truly fantastic car and I dare say the best ‘American muscle’ I have ever driven.
Prior to this drive, I never understood the appeal of the AC Cobra and its cult following – I always presumed it was ‘an American thing’. After this drive, however, I get it now. It may sound weird as they are two totally different cars, but the first impression I got after getting out of the car was that this car feels like an English/American version of the 911 Singer we reviewed. The rawness, the drama, the noise, stirred the same heart-thumping emotions from the driver. It is perhaps no coincidence then, that the owner of this car also owns the Singer. Thank you as always to the owner’s generosity and of course, the team for making this video possible.
Alex W. (http://www.taipanmedia.com)
Dave (IG: @giggles852)
Alex C.: (IG: @nofishshark)
Adhiraj Rathore: (IG: @supercarsofhongkong)
Martin: (IG: @visualspassport)
See our review video here: