1978 Dax Tojeiro 427 by DJ Sportscars

The AC Cobra was the brain child of the late Carroll Shelby and it remains one of the most iconic cars ever built. Shelby's crazy idea of "shoe-horning' that 7.0 litre monster of an engine into a lightweight body and chassis was truly inspired. The Cobra was never produced in great numbers and not surprisingly a "Genuine' Cobra with matching numbers and correct history is a rare and expensive beast. However the concept was not a hard one for the "Replica' manufacturers to emulate.. take a powerful engine like the Ford small block V8, the Rover 3.5 V8 or various Jaguar derivatives ... then build a near copy of the striking Cobra bodywork out of fibreglass or aluminium and they were well on the way to producing a similarly striking and exciting motor car but at a fraction of the price. So a thriving "Replica' industry emerged and "The Fake Snake' was born ... AC were not happy!

One of the finest builders and designers of Cobra Replicas were Dax and John Tojeiro. Tojeiro became a director at Dax and brought with him a near perfect pedigree having had a hand in the design of the AC Ace which was of course the car that Shelby had developed as the AC Cobra. Dax, or DJ Sportscars International based in Harlow Essex, were amongst the first people to produce a "kit car' version of the Cobra. They led the way offering a quality product and a variety of engine options that all mated to the tried and tested Jaguar running gear including the gearbox and limited slip differentials.

The car we have here today is an excellent example of a Dax Tojeiro Cobra. The original owners went down the Jaguar engined route and installed the 5.3 Litre V12 unit. This was the engine that saw service through the 1970s and 1980s. It could be found in the 1971 E-Type and then, in various guises, right through to the 1981 Series II Daimler Double Six. It is a well proven powerful engine that suits the Dax Cobra right down to the ground.

This is an excellent chance to acquire a well sorted, very rapid re-incarnation of one of the greatest sports cars ever built.. despite being a "replica' they remain as one of the great present day "driver's cars'... you will enjoy the journey!