Lot number | 47 |
---|---|
Hammer value | £12,000 |
Description | AC Cobra 427 Replica |
Registration | B802 NAB |
Year | 1985 |
Colour | Aubergine Metallic |
Engine size | 3,500 cc |
Chassis No. | FFCX20025 |
Engine No. | 10A25366 |
Since it first hit the streets way back in 1962, the original AC Cobra has become one of the most instantly recognisable sports cars of all time.
In Britain an AC Cobra was famously clocked at 185mph on the M1 motorway in 1964, a speed deemed so outrageous that it reputedly contributed to the implementation of national speed limits the following year – all part of the legend that still makes these cars so desirable today. Particularly revered in America (where its designer, the late, great Carroll Shelby, had an almost god-like status), the Cobra has inspired a host of imitators keen to experience the joys of a massive V8 in a lightweight body, a reliably exciting recipe which always guarantees a tremendous power-to-weight ratio, not to mention an ear-to-ear grin.
This particular AC 427 replica was built in 2006 using a kit supplied by the Fiero Factory of Alvechurch and based on 1985 Ford Sierra running gear with a Rover 3.5 V8 engine mated to a 5-speed manual gearbox. Looking superb in metallic dark aubergine with side-exit exhausts and pukka Hallibrand-style deep-dish alloys, it is beautifully finished and has only covered 1,600 miles from build, in the hands of just one owner.
Offering all the performance you could wish for with an epic soundtrack from those drainpipe exhausts, it is said to drive beautifully with an MOT until August. Not for the shy and retiring, it is just the kind of toy that any true petrolhead would love to have at their disposal on a fine summer’s evening.