AC Cobra Coupe A98 Le Mans 1964

[Sick Cylinder]

In 1964 AC Cars built a one off Cobra Coupe to compete at Le Mans. At the time there was no speed limit on British motorways and AC tested the car on the M1 at a speed of 185mph - unfortunately a newspaper reporter put the story on the front pages of the national newspapers and this may have contributed to the later introduction of the 70mph UK speed limit.

The car was involved in a tragic accident at Le Mans when a tyre blew and it killed three spectators viewing the race from an unauthorised area.

There is a lot more info on the car and photos available from this link:

http://www.csxinfo.net/daytonacoupe/a98/pages/history.htm

Above two pictures show the car racing at Le Mans before the tragic accident caused by a tyre blowout.

The story of Jack Sears 185mph test on public roads:

http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/motorsport/day-jack-sears-hit-185mph-m1-motorway


After Le Mans the damaged car was stored under a tarpaulin until it was restored in 1972. A couple of rear views.

 

[Dr P Grunfelde]

Footage of the AC A98 Cobra Coupe being started:



This incredibly rare (one of a kind) 1964 Le Mans car is road registered and still used on British roads - a brief clip of it outside the Fennel restaurant near Aberdeen Scotland where they regularly hold V8 Breakfast car meetings.

 

[swynder]

Gorgeous!!

 

[IfAndOr]

This incredibly rare (one of a kind) 1964 Le Mans car is road registered and still used on British roads

What's the insurance like on this I wonder. It's probably not driven at 185mph around Scotland though.

A good looking machine.

 

[Sick Cylinder]

Insurance will presumably be on an agreed value basis - not necessarily what it is worth - although it's only worth what someone is willing to pay. Both the AC A98 and the Willment Cobra Daytona Coupe are the only ones of their kind in the world, but are probably worth much less than any of the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupes because they are not well known to car enthusiasts or to the public.

I was so impressed with this car and the Willment Cobra Coupe that I decided to run a race series for them against the Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe!

Click on this link for more info:
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/threads/cobra-coupe-shootout-coming-spring-2015.313121/

 

[BJahalt88]

Pretty cool!