The Shelby Cobra is an undisputed icon, but Carroll Shelby didn’t create it from scratch. Casting around for an existing lightweight European sports car to mate with a torquey American V8, he settled on the AC Ace. Looking like a Cobra on hormone blockers, the Ace was launched in 1954 and began life with a 100 hp 2.0-liter inline six that took it to 60 mph in 11.4 seconds. Not bad for the time, but it was about to look seriously slow. With a Ford 289-cube (4.7-liter) V8 under the nose, the AC Cobra that replaced it could reach 60 mph in half the time.
Fast forward six decades and the current incarnation of AC Cars has introduced an electric version of the Ace that can get to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds, making it as quick as an original small-block Cobra. Power for the £ 129,500 (US$ 177k) Ace RS Electric comes from a 308 hp electric motor that can generate a continuous 250 Nm of torque, with bursts of 500 Nm available for overtaking runs. The battery is a modest-sounding 38 kWh, but that helps keep the weight down to just 1050 kg), which in turn means the Ace can travel 322 km on electric power before needing a charge.
That gives the Ace a claimed 80 km advantage in driving range over the same company’s classic-looking Cobra Series 1 Electric, despite the latter mating the same motor with a bigger 55 kWh battery pack (and yet somehow incurring no weight penalty). But befitting its performance heritage, the Cobra Series 1 can hit 96 km in 4.9 seconds, 0.6 seconds faster than the Ace. Of course, it’s quite possible that the whole idea of a car that looks like an AC/Shelby Cobra but doesn’t rumble, growl and have an engine bay stuffed full of V8 turns you right off. In which case you’ll be relieved to hear that AC’s 650 hp Superblower keeps the true Cobra spirit alive – even if it does it with Chevy power these days.
