Saab’s historic factory in Trollhättan, Sweden, hasn’t been up to much since it built the final 9-3 in 2014. The assembly line is being parted out, but the plant won’t remain empty for long. T-Engineering, which was born from the ashes of Saab, will soon build a new AC Cobra in the facility.
Founded in 2011 by a group of former Saab engineers, and majority-owned by China-based Dongfeng, T-Engineering specializes in helping car companies develop, test, and build vehicles. Of course, large automakers handle the majority of development, testing, and manufacturing in-house. But enlisting the help of T-Engineering makes sense for a smaller company like AC Cars. The brand claims that it’s in full expansion, and scaling up its existing production facility would take time and cost a substantial amount of money.
Yes—the British outfit AC Cars is still around and minting out new variants of the classic Cobra car design, as well the a smaller but similar-looking Ace roadster. In fact, AC cemented “its status as Britain’s oldest active vehicle manufacturer, by celebrating its 123rd anniversary” last year. Cobra replicas from the likes of American companies like Factory Five and Superperformance are similar, but different, and typically less expensive.
The deal with T-Engineering also gives AC Cars access to Saab’s former research and development facilities to design future models and to the test track located next to the factory. It’s a cool and entirely unexpected new chapter in the plant’s history: The same facility that developed the 900 Turbo, among other models, will help bring the Cobra into the 21st century. On a secondary level, the tie-up should create jobs in the area.
AC Cars will initially outsource production of the Cobra GT Roadster and the Cobra GT Coupe to T-Engineering. Both models look a lot like the original Cobra made in the 1960s, which was related to the Shelby Cobra, but they’re new under the composite body. Built around an aluminum space-frame chassis, they ride on an extended wheelbase that clears up more interior space and they’re fitted with electric power steering.
Buyers have two Ford-sourced engine options to choose from. The first is the familiar, naturally-aspirated 5.0-liter Coyote V8 rated at 460 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque. The second is a supercharged version of the V8 that posts figures of 663 and 575, respectively. Both engines can be linked to either a six-speed manual transmission or a 10-speed automatic, and the supercharged car gets more powerful brakes.
The supercar-like horsepower figures come with a supercar-like price. AC Cars charges £195,800 for the roadster and £225,000 for the coupe excluding tax. Those figures convert to about $248,000 and $285,000, respectively, at the current conversion rate. The supercharger is optional.
Klas Lundgren, the CEO of T-Engineering, told The Drive that Swedish production of the Cobra starts next week. The smaller Ace, which is available either with a Ford Focus ST-sourced 2.3-liter turbo-four or an electric drivetrain, will continue to be made in England.
This isn’t the first time the Swedes and the Brits have collaborated on a car. The Saab 99 released in 1968 went on sale with a 1.7-liter straight-four (as opposed to the V4 found in some of the brand’s other models) that was manufactured in England by Triumph. It was later re-engineered into the B engine, which made its debut in the 1972 and later powered the 99 Turbo and early versions of the first-generation 900.
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