12 Dec 06
The Roadster and Roadster-Coupe were axed last year by Smart as part of parent firm DaimlerChrysler's cost-cutting drive, but rumours have been circulating for months about someone stepping in to resurrect them. Now it's official - the rights and all the tooling for both cars are to be bought by a group of British enthusiasts, who have issued these first official pictures of the redesigned and re-engineered machines. What's more, one of the most famous sports car names ever will grace the two-seaters. So far it's just been called Project Kimber, but these three images show what will soon become the all-new AC Ace.
The Smart underpinnings are clearly visible in the pictures, but extensive work has been carried out to give the cars a unique appearance. Gordon Murray is on board as a technical adviser, and although he's best known for his work on the McLaren F1 supercar he's also a great advocate of small, lightweight cars such as the motorcycle-engined Rocket he helped create.
The Ace Roadster and Ace Coupe will be launched in the second half of 2007, with prices expected to range from around £12,000 to £19,000. Both right-hand drive and left-hand drive models will be available. Power will come from the same Mitsubishi-sourced 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine that's in the second-generation Smart Fortwo, which goes on sale in the spring.
There will be three different versions of each AC. Some will be turbocharged and some naturally aspirated, which has led to speculation that the powerplant will be available in the same three states of tune - 61bhp, 71bhp and an 84bhp turbo - as the Fortwo. However, a Project Kimber spokesman wouldn't confirm that, saying only that performance and fuel economy will be at least on a par with the outgoing Smart Roadster and Roadster-Coupe. There will be no diesel versions, but there are strong hints that alternative powertrains such as hybrids or even electric models could be considered in the future. However, that's unconfirmed at this stage.
