AC Cobra Coupé is a 799bhp V8 supercar that the British firm hopes will turn it into a global brand. The £399,000 two-seater enters production next year, and AC gave an exclusive first look ahead of its official unveiling on 29 May.
A 799bhp V8 and a closed roof
The Cobra Coupé is essentially a closed-roof version of the 2024 Cobra Roadster, sharing 75% of its parts. Under the hood sits a Ford-sourced 5.0-liter V8. The engine comes in three flavors: a naturally aspirated 450bhp version, a supercharged 720bhp option, and a 799bhp Clubsport Edition limited to 99 units.
Drivers can choose between a Tremec six-speed manual or a 10-speed automatic gearbox. Power goes to the rear wheels. The naturally aspirated car gets a limited-slip differential; other variants use a Torsen differential. Suspension is double wishbones all around. The Coupé rides on an aluminum chassis with a fully carbon-fiber body, both built in-house. The body comes from Green Tech Automotive, a Sussex firm AC recently bought to reduce costs.
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It claims all bodywork behind the front wings is unique to the Coupé. The design was inspired by the one-off AC Cobra A98 built for the 1964 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Wider, but still unmistakably a Cobra
At 1.98 meters wide, the Coupé is broader than previous AC models. The extra width comes from conforming to global road regulations. Engineering chief Jon Peeke-Vout said the car could have been smaller, but that would have restricted it to track-only use in most markets. An alternative would have been a smaller engine, “but that’s not us,” he added. He noted that despite the larger size, “there is no mistake that it is an AC Cobra.”
The interior mirrors the Roadster: analogue dials, a small digital touchscreen, and a three-spoke wheel. The car shown is still a prototype, and AC targets a weight of “under 1600kg” in the heaviest supercharged state. The Roadster weighs up to 1500kg.
From 100 cars a year to more than 1000
Chairman Alan Lubinsky called the Coupé AC’s first “volume” model. The 125-year-old firm currently builds around 100 hand-made cars annually. He said the plan is to use the Coupé to push that past 1000. “This is the most exciting time for AC in its history,” Lubinsky stated.
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Fixed-head coupes have stronger appeal in markets like the US and Middle East than convertibles. That’s why the Coupé was chosen for this push. In the US, the car will be called the GT Coupé due to licensing issues. America already accounts for about half of AC’s sales.
To ramp up production, the company will open a new UK plant. Details of the facility haven’t been revealed yet. Currently, cars are 75% finished at AC’s German production plant, then sent to the UK for completion. For the new site, the plan is to do everything except the chassis on location.
Both the Coupé and the Roadster will be built at the new plant, with the coupe making up most of the volume. Production of the fixed-roof Cobra is slated to start next year, after current Roadster orders are fulfilled. Deliveries will begin in 2028.
What comes after the Coupé
The platform used for the Roadster and Coupé can also underpin other models from AC’s back catalog. Peeke-Vout said: “The platform lends itself to some of the other models that we could create again.” CEO David Conza described the brand’s ambition as sitting between boutique shops like Chapelle and mainstream brands like H&M.
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AC’s Classic range—the Cobra Mk4 and the incoming Ace—will continue alongside new models, serving as a brand builder. Peeke-Vout noted that range “is nice to do and it’s important we do it well, but it’s not going to keep the lights on.” The classic models are built to original specs but sit on modern aluminum chassis with touches like a one-piece carbon-fiber shell for the Cobra Mk4.
Lubinsky hinted at more classic models. “From the Ace could come something like the 1950s Aceca again,” he said, “because of our skills of [being able to mould] the carbonfibre body for it. And from there it will spawn other relatives.”
He also said an EV powertrain could eventually be offered for each car. Currently only the Ace has that option—a 300bhp motor with a 72kWh battery and around 200 miles of range. But future EVs will be more advanced. “The technology from that car is a little bit old now,” Lubinsky added, “because we did it about 18 months ago. We’ve got far better technology now, so we will update that.”