It's an icon that has endured for five decades, but the AC Cobra's story has definitely not been completed.
Autocar reports that AC Cars will build another "quasi-modern" Cobra series utilizing 6.2-liter V-8 power early next year. Though the cars will be based on the fourth-generation Cobra, they'll have some significant upgrades hidden behind their voluptuous bodies.
The cars are named Cobra 378s. They're an unlimited production followup to the mere handful of true continuation cars AC announced earlier this year.
AC Cars chief Alan Lubinsky told the British magazine that the new Cobras will feature power steering and brakes, and they'll offer air conditioning as an option. The hairy Cobras that Carroll Shelby drove and promoted to success (like the one pictured) in the United States boasted nothing resembling luxury—so simply adding those features is a major step away from the original recipe.
The first handful of cars are already under construction in the United Kingdom, and they're bound for their first owners shortly after the new year. It's not clear if the cars will cross the pond to the U.S. any time soon, but AC Cars says it is closely watching new homologation rules for our market. Here, AC plans to sell the cars under the same Autokraft MkIV Classic nomenclature as they were in the 1980s.
No pricing has been announced yet, but Lubinsky expects the cars to retail for "something in the vicinity of £85,000 to £90,000."
That's about $110,000 here—something of a bargain, if you ask us.