1959/1964 AC Ace to Cobra 289 Specification Roadster

• Built as an Ace and exported to the USA
• Uprated to broadly Cobra 289 specification
• Present ownership since 2001
• Restoration completed circa 2005
• Enthusiastically campaigned and enjoyed

Rightly regarded as one of the all-time great classic sports cars, the muscular, fire-breathing Cobra succeeded in capturing the hearts of enthusiasts like few of its contemporaries. Convinced that a market existed for an inexpensive sportscar combining European chassis engineering and American V8 power, Le Mans-winning Texan racing driver Carroll Shelby concocted an unlikely alliance between AC Cars and the Ford Motor Company. The former's Ace provided the simple twin-tube chassis frame - strengthened and supplied with four-wheel disc brakes for the Cobra - into which was persuaded one of Ford's lightweight, small-block V8s. The 260ci (4.2-litre) prototype first ran in January 1962, with production commencing later that year.

Exclusively for the USA initially, Cobras - minus engines - were sent from England to be finished off by Shelby in California, and it was not until late in 1963 that AC Cars in Thames Ditton got around to building the first fully finished European-specification cars. After 75 Cobras had been built with the 260ci engine, the more powerful 289ci (4.7-litre) unit was standardised in 1963. Rack-and-pinion steering was the major Mark II update then in 1965 a new, stronger chassis was introduced, a move that enabled Ford's 427ci (7.0-litre) V8 to be installed. Production ended in 1968 after 1,029 cars had been built, resuming in the 1980s under the auspices of Brooklands-based Autokraft and continuing until 1996.

This car started life as a left-hand drive AC Ace shipped to the USA where at some point it was uprated to Cobra specification. The car later fell into disrepair and was sold at Bonhams & Brooks' Beaulieu sale in 2001 (Lot 609) having been imported from Portland, Oregon in 1989. Purchased there by the current owner, it has been rebuilt and restored to Cobra 289 specification with what we are advised is a 289ci (4.7-litre) V8 engine; the body is all aluminium and has been very well executed. Since completion circa 2005 the Cobra has been enthusiastically campaigned and enjoyed by the current owner, attending the Goodwood Revival Meeting every year. Titled as a '1964 AC', the car is offered with a UK V5C Registration Certificate and restoration bills totalling circa £50,000, though there are others that have yet to be located.