New AC Cobras to be built at former Saab facility

AC has partnered Swedish firm T-Engineering to boost production of its new Cobra GT Roadster and Cobra GT Coupé.

T-Engineering was established in 2011 by former Saab engineers, following the collapse of the Swedish car maker. 

It's based at the historic Trollhättan facility and is owned by Chinese car maker Dongfeng, which purchased a 70% stake in the company in 2012.

As well as building Cobras (additional to those made in the UK), it will offer AC access to Trollhättan’s R&D facilities and test track to aid the development of future models.

The deal comes as the British sports car maker drastically expands its line-up, reintroducing the junior Ace model with petrol and electric powertrains.

It has revitalised itself over the past three years since it named Swiss financial backer David Conza as CEO.

Although the Ace and Cobra bear a resemblance to their 1950s and 1960s forebears, they are all-new models under the skin, developed primarily in Germany.

The Cobra gets a 5.0-litre Ford V8 producing either 454bhp or 654bhp (the latter when it's supercharged), driven through a choice of a six-speed manual or 10-speed automatic gearbox.

The petrol Ace gets the turbocharged 2.3-litre four-pot from the Ford Focus ST, putting out more than 300bhp.

The electric Ace gets a single rear motor and is claimed to be capable of driving more than 200 miles between charges.