2023 AC Cobra GT Roadster: An icon reborn

AC has reimagined its legendary roadster for the 21st century. With a snarling 654bhp V8 and the latest ultra grippy tyres from Michelin, is this the ultimate Cobra ever made?

Born in the early 1960s out of an unlikely partnership between US car giant Ford, and the small, bespoke, AC Cars in Britain, the original Cobra owes its existence to professional racing driver Carroll Shelby. It was the Texan racer who had the brainwave to shoehorn one of the blue oval’s thumping small-block V8s into the diminutive body of an AC Ace sportscar – in the process creating one of the most evocative roads racers of all time.

It became immediately apparent that Shelby’s creation was a masterstroke when it began to dominate the competition (including Chevrolet’s then freshly released Corvette) at racetracks across America. The Cobra’s runaway success at the track meant that Ford had little trouble shifting its road going counterpart - ultimately spawning numerous evolutions of the original design.

Even after the Cobra ceased official production in the late 1960s, the design continued to live on – becoming one of the most copied kit cars in history. In the intervening 50 years, Cobra kits have come in an array of shapes and sizes: some, true to the original specification and built by licensed manufacturers like Superformance; others, more of an interpretation of the original philosophy, pieced together by men in sheds.

All these Cobra copies do have one thing in common though: they aren’t the real deal. That is why, like a famous rock band, sick of cover groups doing their greatest hit an injustice, AC Cars have chimed in once again to show how the Cobra tune should be played.

The all-new 2023 AC Cobra GT Roadster is unmistakably Cobra in design. While the outline of the new car stays mostly true to the gorgeous curves of the original, the Icona styling team have done a remarkable job in subtly tweaking the shape to modernise and accentuate the roadster’s iconic features, without ruining a timeless design.

On the inside, AC has taken a similar approach. The GT roadster ditches the cramped driving position and sub-par ergonomics of the 1960s model but retains the character you want – polished toggle switches and analogue gauges included. Also welcome (given the amount of firepower under your right foot) are a host of modern safety features like ABS and traction control, which were absent in 1961.

Arguably just as evocative as the original cars’ styling was the guttural roar produced by its Ford Windsor V8. And, thankfully, with the new car AC have not tried to re-invent the wheel with some complex hybrid powertrain – the GT roadster houses a traditional and awesome modern 5.0 Coyote V8. Therefore, you get all the atmosphere and drama of the original, but with the benefit of greatly enhanced reliability and power.

Although straight line performance was never lacking in the 1960s car, the added firepower of the new V8 means that (in supercharged form) the GT roadster will fire from 0 to 60mph in a mere 3.4 seconds. At the other end of the straight, you also have the added benefit of huge 6 piston steel brakes (up front) to arrest all that extra velocity.

Despite being an incredibly capable track weapon for its day, one area of the original car which was crying out for an upgrade, was the tyres. On the original primitive and narrow rubber, the driver was forced to saw at the wheel to keep the Cobra pointing in the right direction.

That’s why for the new roadster, AC are relying on Michelin's world-renowned Pilot Sport 4 and Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres to keep this monster firmly glued to the tarmac. As well as making the 2023 Cobra safer for daily use, these new boots are sure to have a transformative effect on the car’s handling when allied with the highly advanced extruded aluminium spaceframe chassis.

If you’ve always had your heart set on an AC Cobra and are the sort of person who accepts no imitations, then this new roadster is the ultimate expression of what the model can be. The only slight hurdle to overcome is the £285,000 asking price…