The AC Cobra 378 Superblower is one of those rare, otherworldly occurrences where fantasies come true. Have you ever looked at vintage reels of classic cars, some of which the manufacturers have long shuttered their doors, and fantasized about getting your hands on one of those and making them all your own? Actually, that’s the kind of thinking that gave birth to hotrodding, laying hands on classics, and recreating them into what works for the present day.
What we have here with the Superblower is far better than taking the knife to an innocent vintage car. Instead, the intermittently produced and short-lived Cobra returns to the 21st century, not from the garage of an overzealous fan, but from the marquee itself, and it’s rocking a supercharged powertrain while still clothed in the same attire it wore in the early '60s. How often does that happen? “What in God’s name is a Cobra Superblower?” you ask.
Well, we’re happy to introduce you to the most powerful variant of the Cobra 378 continuum. The Anglo-American marquee had been making and selling sports cars in the UK and U.S. since 1962. You may have known them as Shelby Cobra or AC Shelby Cobra. The original rebirth of the Cobra occurred in 2018 after nearly sixty years of pseudo-hiatus. Let's show you why the Superblower is one of our favorite comeback kids.
AC Cobra Superblower Is Back To The Future
Imagine going back in time to 1960s Europe, traveling through the time capsule aboard the re-energized Cobra Superblower packing a 580bhp supercharged V8, a far cry from the 260 horsepower produced by the 1960s Ford Windsor V8 motor. Hold on to that image because this was the car Carroll Shelby said he enjoys driving the most.
Carroll retired from racing the legendary Le Mans to build sports cars, and his company built 75 units of the Cobra 260s and 580 units of the Cobra 289s. While the '60s muscle cars were proud carriers of more powerful mills, the Cobra got crowned the greatest sports car of all time by R&T. Nearly six decades later, the Cobra nameplate returns to its future to celebrate the marque’s 120th anniversary. However, it was no longer the Cobra 260 or Cobra 289. Reborn in 2018, the Cobra 378 became the flagship model of a new breed, including the new AC Cobra Series 4 electric model.
This time, the revamped Cobra 378 Superblower packs “mouth-watering” specifications, powered by a 6.2L 650 bhp Supercharged V8 engine paired with a six-speed gearbox. Aren’t you just glad that the Cobra retained its classic four-inch round tube ladder frame chassis, allowing it to look as young as it was over five decades ago? There's no way you sit in that thing without feeling like it's the civil rights era, and that you're speeding straight into the future.
The chassis and body are built at the automaker's factory in South Africa, from where it is shipped to the UK, as the drivetrain and finishing touches are then added. This is similar to how AC Cars exported completed, painted, and trimmed cars to Shelby's workshop in Los Angeles, USA, which then added the engine and gearbox and fixed bodywork flaws that could have happened while in transit across the ocean.
Other standard specifications of the AC Cobra Superblower include an aluminum radiator and header tank with electric cooling fan; high-performance servo-assisted race specification calipers with ventilated disc brakes; limited-slip differential, front and rear multi-link suspension with coil over shock absorbers; front and rear anti-roll bars, pin drive 7.5" x 15" front and 9.5" x 15" rear wheels, hand-crafted interior finished in black leather, glovebox in leather, door map pockets, deep-pile carpets, and leather-covered instrument panel.
The Superblower sells in five standard colors, including Guardsman Blue with White center stripes, Princess Blue with Orange center stripes, Rosso Chiaro with White center stripes, Yellow with White center stripes, and BRG with White center stripes.
What We Love Most About The Cobra Superblower
It has to be the originality; the keeping-to-the-roots originality. That’s what we love most about the revised and re-energized Superblower, down to the basic design approach of the interior. England-based AC Cars truly hung on tight to the original concept despite making significant changes to give the Cobra Superblower a comfy seat at the table of modern sports cars.
The exterior curves are a perfect rendition of the 1960s Cobra, down to the composite body eschewing aluminum. While this approach makes it heavier than the predecessor, the finished work is far prettier than what you’d normally see on production cars. As you already know by now, Superblower has done away with the less-performing Ford engine, replacing it with the trusty Corvette LSA V8 mill.
Chevy had said "no" in 1961 when Carroll requested a supply of this same Corvette’s engine to power his AC-manufactured cars. Following Chevy’s refusal, Ford, who had always wanted to have a champion to go toe-to-toe with the Corvette, was happy to furnish Shelby with its brand new, lightweight Windsor 3.6L (221 cu in) engine. Today, the Cobra has finally gotten that Corvette mill, churning out 555 pound-force feet of torque to the rear wheels via a Tremec 6-speed manual and a limited-slip differential.
Additionally, the suspension is an upgraded 1980s MkIV, featuring independent multi-link front and rear axles with Bilstein coil spring and damper units as well as anti-roll bars in the front and rear. The geometry plus spring and damper rates can be tuned to the owner's satisfaction, according to the automaker. Each Cobra Superblower comes with a certificate of authenticity and a designated chassis number on the chassis plate.