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28.11.2009 - Total kitcar magazine |
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[title] All The Young Dudes – AK 427 Generation II
[standfirst] A nice Cobra replica, puts a smile on your face, is big and brutal and kicks sand in the face of lesser vehicles, and we love ‘em. Even more so when they are as refined and lovingly crafted as an AK 427. The editor bagged a drive of the company’s latest demonstrator recently…
If you don’t know that AK Sportscars are one of the foremost makers of Cobra replicas in the UK then you’re not a true specialist car enthusiast and/or you must have been living in Liberia (which I’m sure is a very nice place to live, if you like rubber trees).
Fact is, it’s a bit of a new chapter in the Peterborough company’s history. Founder, Ken Freeman, recently retired (although he’s still to be found frequently in the workshop and shows) along with his wife, Lynda, leaving son Jon and his other half, Wendy, running things on a day-to-day basis. I’ve known those two for a long time and have no doubt that the future of AK is in solid, capable hands especially if their latest demonstrator is anything to go by.
This is the first of their Generation II models, so-called because it’s based on XJ40 rather than XJ6 donor, meaning that it’s lighter, featuring a few chassis mods with slightly less bulky diff and outboard discs all-round, saving a hefty - and a useful - 200kg in all-up weight, now tipping the scales at 1000kg.
As one has come to expect of any AK product, the demo car looks absolutely resplendent and I laugh when Jon reminds me that I wrote once (how many times? – Carol) that just when I think I’ve seen the ultimate AK along comes an even better one. That’s certainly true here, I’m almost afraid to say. Their previous demo was a corker in metallic sliver, with black pinstripe and a supercharged Chevy small block V8.
The latest, however, leaves me short of superlatives, it features a similar colourscheme with sliver stripe, beautiful ‘biscuit’ leather interior and get this, a deadly GM LS3 V8 kicking out 430bhp, right out of the crate and crucially in these ‘mind the ozone layer’ times, 25mpg potential. Consider that for a moment, who, 15 years ago, could imagine a V8 giving that sort of economy? No one, apart possibly from the clever bloke in the white coat at General Motors’ development plant in Detroit.
It’s drive time. Once upon a time the horrible tailbacks, due to road works on the A47, very close to AK’s factory unit would have filled me with dread. V8s don’t always like traffic jams. Hey, but today I just don’t care, you see an LS engine is a very clever beastie indeed, not only lighter than its forbears due to it being made from aluminium, but it’s so much more intelligent. Einstein plays Trigger, is a suitable analogy, I feel.
Its intelligent (stock) ECU checks its vital signs, just like the engine management in your BMW or Audi does, and clever little sausage, it adjusts its fuelling according to traffic conditions and the input of your right foot on the fly-by-wire throttle pedal.
The result is that I’m destined to get fed-up sitting in that queue, but the LS3 won’t, it behaves impeccably and be ready to perform as soon as the traffic in front of me clears. Anxious glances at the temperature gauge are needless, although in-built (you’ve been there, I’m sure) and the needle moves not so much as a millimetre on its scale.
At long last, those signs, which I’m sure, are only there as ironic methods of sarcasm, stating ‘sorry for the delay’ appear and I’ve an empty road ahead. A prod of the throttle and no sign of bogging down, and the car surges forward, changing character at the same time, engine note altering from ‘interested’ to ‘irritated’ in a split second and I soon back off as legal limits are reached swiftly. In addition to the above, a dual mode exhaust package with a bypass on acceleration is available. This is all due to the dual-mode exhaust manifold, which uses vacuum-actuated outlet valves, which control engine noise during low-load operation, but open for maximum performance when prompted.
I reckon I’ve got a fair bit of bottle, but not that much, and about 10 miles out of Peterborough, I veer off the A47 and find a glorious sweeping A-meets-B-road, fairly wide, with sweeping bends and long straights, and this baby is deserted. No buildings, no cars, and no people for several miles.
I put the car through its paces without being irresponsible and find the AK 427 to be beautifully poised and balanced, along the lines of a Gardner Douglas, a car famed for its qualities of roadholding. That 200kg ‘diet’ has made a big difference, detectable though the LS3 engine has power to burn and would make a 10-tonne double decker seem lively, and is so impeccably behaved in the AK that it is easy to forget that there’s 430bhp under my right foot.
Consider for a moment this: BMW M3 414bhp (1690kg), BMW M5 500bhp (1855kg), Audi RS6 571bhp (2025kg) and it takes on more of a perspective. All of those mentioned are fierce rivals and good cars all, but I fancy that the AK could despatch all but one of them easily and even the tricky one and its extra 135bhp would be blunted by the extra pies it’s consumed at double the weight. So, this AK is a supercar for sure, clothed in a classic Cobra shape, featuring bespoke levels of build and standard equipment.
As I park up for Carol to do the business with the photos, I cannot get over that beautiful build quality. I realise that all AK 427s feature a level of finish that many would envy, but the team have surpassed even their own high standards this time. If you closed your eyes and were teleported to the interior and someone told you that Aston Martin had been responsible for this cockpit, you wouldn’t doubt that for a second.
So much so, that Larry Webb at Sovereign Cars, someone whom I have the utmost respect for has AK Sportscars build a range of Cobras for him, to his specification. He’s a discerning lad is Larry as are his customers. That should tell you and me a whole lot.
The old adage, often erroneous that a Cobra is great in a straight-line only is blown to pieces here. Take it from me; you can really lean on this AK Generation II into tight bends. As someone well-known for not being backwards in coming forward, on return to AK HQ I am momentarily speechless. I mean, over the years, I’ve driven umpteen shoddy looking cars that worked superbly, likewise sublime looking vehicles that perform like an old rowing boat. Here on the other hand is a car that genuinely ‘talks the walk’.
I did laugh out loud the other day. I was reading the newspaper and they had a translation of in-vogue teenage-speak. I noticed the word ‘BOBFOC’. Apparently, it means ‘Body off Baywatch; Face off Crimewatch’! I thought that rather good. Of course, I’m still wondering what was meant by anyone over 30 using such words deserving to be ‘rinsed’ means...anyway, the point I make here is that the AK 427 is definitely more ‘BOBFOB’ – work it out!
For your Generation II build, you’d be visiting the vehicle dismantlers er scrapyard, (they can call them what they like, they’re still scrapyards, in the same way that refuse collectors are dustmen!) for several parts from the XJ40 (1986-2003 vintage) for a front axle, on subframe, a diff (with 3.54 or 3.58:1 ratio) from the XJ40 3.6 auto, a Jaguar XJ6 handbrake assembly, the adjustable steering column from the BMW E28 (or E32/E34), Rover 200/25 servo and master cylinder and a VW Polo Mk2 heater assembly.
The rest comes from AK and a selection of recommended suppliers and sellers of goodies such as Europa Spares. One thing is certain, with some 600 examples of the breed out there, loyal owners and an efficient, professional company supporting you at all stages of your build, the Cobra replica, nay the kit-car experience in general, doesn’t get much better than an AK 427.
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