A Baby Cobra with a serious bite

By Paul Bond

13th May 2010

Underneath the enormous Goodyear racing tyres and classic sponsors logos, this AC Cobra replica is actually a Suzuki Cappuccino with a three-cylinder engine that is over ten times smaller than the monster 7.0-litre V8 from the original 1965 Mark III.     

It isn’t only the engine that has shrunk either, the entire car is just over a metre tall, and the wheelbase is a full 40cm shorter than the original 427 Cobra - which was hardly roomy to start with - and because the body is made from fibre reinforced plastic, it is nearly 400kg lighter as well.  

Don’t write the Baby Cobra off as a novelty item just yet though, as the car comes with a really serious options list. The company responsible can make the mini Cobra as hardcore as you desire, but anyone seeking a high-performance version will need to dig deep to afford it.

In standard trim the Cobra comes with a 660cc engine with only 63bhp, black leather bucket seats, ‘Halibrand’ style original alloys and larger 50mm springs to improve the ride. Spec it up all the way however, and the price rises from £27,724 to a whopping £43,993.

So what do you get for your extra sixteen grand? Well, the engine goes up in size to 720cc, and gets turbocharged to take the power to 158bhp. There’s 300mm lightweight performance brakes front and back to cope with the extra shove. On top of this there is a fully adjustable sports suspension kit, and a limited-slip diff at the rear to make the most of the featherweight chassis.   

Neat touches like the four-point Simpson race harnesses, a small driver’s wind deflector, and the long white dummy side exhausts are all included in the cost.  

We will be testing the Baby Cobra in the next few weeks, and its only then that’ll we’ll discover whether this unique miniature speedster is really worth its not-so-tiny price. 

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