1969 | AC 428

The AC 428's have all the requisites qualifying them as one of the greatest GT cars of their day with rakish good looks, low & wide stance, suggestive exhausts, front wing grills, comfortable seats, lots of boot space and a monstrous 7.0litre V8!

Based on the Cobra 427 chassis but stretched by 6 inches to gain useful cabin space the extra length also gives them a smoother ride

The powers that be (the FIA) had banned the AC427 and the Ferrari 250LM from racing as the manufacturers hadn't met the homologation numbers (100 actually) needed to be eligible for the FIA's manufacturers World Championship

Hence the AC factory had to make use of 50 or so uprated chassis previously earmarked for Carol Shelby in the US

A number were used for the MKIII Cobra (ie the 427 chassis fitted with the 289cu / 4.7 litre engine for road customers in Europe)

That wouldn't be enough to completely utilise the spare chassis and Charles & Derek Hurlock decided that their efforts with the uprated chassis couldn't be wasted

So in early summer of 1965 a chassis was sent to Pietro Frua in Turin

The chassis was clothed in a soft top body designed by Frua and sent back to Thames Ditton for finishing prior to being released at the Earls Court Motor Show in October of that year

It was an instant jaw dropper on the stand next to a normal Cobra and generated lots of positive press & general attention

Production numbers are exceedingly low and although exact numbers aren't known as gospel the AC owners club records show that between 25-29 convertibles were made and 43-50 coupes

The example we have here, CF 34, we supplied a few years ago to the most recent owner, and is in more than handsome condition

The first owner kept her until 1977 when she found her long time home with a very caring car family

Regular maintenance was of course taken care of and it wasn't until 2008 that a full restoration was due, a brave move at that time given the 'state' of the world but the proper treatment of a well loved family motorcar took preference over being sensible

The restoration took a full 3 years to complete with well known specialists Thunder Road completing the majority of the work whilst Peter Knight completely rebuilt the engine

The 428 was never a slow car. Capable of reaching 60mph in 5.8 seconds Autocar confirmed they were brisk, describing the test car in period (incidentally another one we've sold) as "Extremely fast"

The Daytona was the only GT car that could just about keep up but that was using a manual gearbox

Nevertheless a rolling road report after the restoration confirms CF 34 produces 435bhp far in excess of what she would have had when new, certainly she must be one the most powerful AC 428 in the world!

She looks quite beautiful in her white paint, and the interior is totally immaculate complete with a modern infotainment system neatly integrated into the centre console for up to date motoring and music playing

Her underside too is as you would hope & expect

Overall she is of the absolute highest standard in every department, starting on the button and running just beautifully