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Searching for news of Alan Lubinsky..who owned AC Cars Ltd.

Discussion in 'Shelby Cobra' started by bitzman, Jan 13, 2012.

  1. bitzman

    bitzman Well-Known Member

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    I saw an ad for a car called the Venom.
    It looked like a cartoon version of a 427 Cobra, quite stylish but
    not really any attempt at replicating the original. Later I saw one in person and it was quite well done, if you go by paint and interior. It looked like it would cost a lot more than even an aluminum bodied Cobra replica to make. The ad had an AC
    badge at the top, but I couldn't figure out if AC was making the car
    or was this just a tip of the hat of AC saying this Venom was a worthy successor?
    Anyway it got me wondering what happened after Alan Lubinsky left Malta, with only a few cars built there? There was also some American state he set up production in, and left as well. So now I am wondering where he is now?

    Also as far as the cars he built with Shelby, a series that I think had the number 1000 in them, I have seen one posted for sale, but how many of those were built, and why did that partnership fall apart? Historically it would have been neat to have the AC Cobra available again but I guess the personalities involved couldn't mesh their business styles.

    Anyhow thanks for any info.
     
  2. mrmustang

    mrmustang Well-Known Member

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    Wally,


    Disclaimer: The following is all public knowledge. Anything I write here though may not be reprinted or published elsewhere without my written permission :thumbdown

    Connecticut was the state, never got off the ground (so to speak), never any association with Shelby, SAI, or CSL at all. 4 CSX1000 "Carbon Fiber" cars built in Malta, NY (Long Island) specialty car dealer had two of them for sale about 4 or 5 years ago.

    Not much story left, assets were sold to a third party asset management company who is now sitting on a lame duck investment.

    Lubinsky has not been heard from since.

    But then again, you knew all this before you made your post, so the question is, what are you fishing for now?






     
  3. bitzman

    bitzman Well-Known Member

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    When I saw the AC badge on the venom ad, that was my original question

    My question was prompted by the ad for the replica that had the AC badge in the ad as a kind of testimonial, I think it was sort of like "AC recommends" the car, which is better looking than the
    Ford two seater prototype Cobra done a few years ago.
    About a year ago I asked the head of Ford Advanced Design at Cars 'n Coffee in Irvine whether they would take another opportunity to do a two seat Cobra prototype but he said Ford has a "rich heritage" with a lot of other things they would like to bring back first.
     
  4. bitzman

    bitzman Well-Known Member

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    Found Alan Lubinsky..who apparently still licenses out the name AC .

    After the tip about the Monaco show I looked it up on Google
    and found a website with more details-- can't figure out if it's Austrailian or Austrian (says "au" in the website address)

    motorreport.com.au/27061/ac-cobra-rides-again-this-time-as-mk-vi-gullwing


    the Germany company is called Gullwing GmbH
    and they announced an aluminum bodied roadster that looks like a Cobra
    and a coupe that the picture is so dark I can't really see what it looks like. Power is by Corvette 6.2 liter V8.
    They quote Lubinsky twice so I think he's pretty well tied in with them.
    It makes sense, the Germans have all the money now--the most booming economy. Here's a quote from him from the website--where Lubinsky takes a dig at all the replicas which, to him, are nothing without the name "AC"
     
  5. mrmustang

    mrmustang Well-Known Member

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    Re: When I saw the AC badge on the venom ad, that was my original question

    Yet you misunderstand as "AC" is not even a licensing group any longer, just a trademark in a folder that will never see the light of day again in the context of a car company. Perceived or not. As for Lubinsky in Germany, perhaps this is the last place he will be seen as he has taken monetary advantage of people on every other continent and country, with lawsuit judgements against him chasing him for the rest of his natural life.

    End of the real story. :rolleyes:
     
  6. bitzman

    bitzman Well-Known Member

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    AC at geneva show

    I just checked. AC was at the recent Geneva Show. But they finally have another model that doesn't look Cobra-ish. Kind of like Alfa 8C but I haven't seen the rear view yet. But they haven't given up on a Cobra look-alike.

    In a story on the CAR magazine website by Tim Pollard


    dated 06 March 2012 01:01


    He says they are tied in with Zagato, who is rebadging a car they did awhile back to create the new AC 378 GT Zagato, the first all-new AC for some time.

    I quote: "The surprise new car at Geneva is an £89,990 supercar to be sold in the UK and Germany, where it will retail for €109,990. The only problem is, the AC 378 GT Zagato didn't arrive in time at Palexpo for press day after an altercation with Customs. Woops. It should be in situ on the AC stand next to Infiniti by Wednesday 7 March.

    The svelte new coupe packs GM's 6.2-litre V8 under the hood, tuned here to make 434bhp in the lightweight 378 GT Zagato.

    If the design looks familiar that's because Zagato previewed this car as the Perana in 2009. It's not the first time AC Cars has looked to Italy for design inspiration: the AC Ace Bristol Zagato of the 1950s and AC Frua of the 1960s were both penned by Zagato.

    The new management at AC plans further developments with Zagato, including a limited run of AC Ace Bristol Zagatosand, this summer, the reintroduction of the AC Ace Classic, a kind of junior Cobra to be sold for less than £50,000 in the UK."


    The CAR site aslo says there is a new manager at AC Cars, who they describe "General Sir Jeremy Mackenzie, 'GCB, OBE, DL, former Deputy Supreme Allied Command NATO Europe, Governor of the Royal Hospital Chelsea and Aide de Camp General to HM The Queen - and also a dedicated AC enthusiast. '

    He says some production will take place at the same factory in South Africa which made Lee Noble's cars


    And for those who predicted Alan Lubinksy was gone, this reporter from CAR says is still on board the management team; Mackenzie credited him with saving the company from closure over the past decade. 'He's just stuck with it through the ups and downs,' he said.

    Also at Geneva was a variety of Cobra-inspired sports cars such as the MkII Classic Aluminium, a MKII Classic and an AC MkVI.

    The new team is building the older cars at the AC Heritage Centre at Brooklands in Surrey, UK, using the original bucks, while the newer cars will be assembled in Germany and South Africa.

    So try as some might like to pretend it isn't happening, A.C. and its Cobra replicas are still out there, makin' waves. I don't have any oar in this water, it's just I find it amazing that people can say it isn't happening and yet they have a sizable display at the Geneva Auto Salon.
     
  7. mrmustang

    mrmustang Well-Known Member

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    Don't you mean that you just finished reading the thread on club cobra and followed the links provided within it then decided to reprint it herer as if you "found it on your own". Kind of like when you posted that "you had several cobras listed on a website for sale" when in fact none of them are associated with you at all. :laf:
     
  8. bitzman

    bitzman Well-Known Member

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    Sorry, forgot to give the website where I read about AC at Geneva

    http://www.carmagazine.co.uk/News/S...GT-Zagato-supercar-at-2012-Geneva-motor-show/


    CAR magazine is one of the best British auto magazines so I will believe what they wrote, though I wish they had named the South African firm that will be making the AC cars.

    About the cars on the site, I have nothing to do with them but invited those selling them to post them on the site because they sound interesting to me.
     
  9. mrmustang

    mrmustang Well-Known Member

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    Wally,

    So what your saying is this was not you


    Funny, it certainly appears that you stated you had several replicas listed on another web site for sale. So what you are saying is you do not personally have any cobras (real or replica) at this time. Thanks, that is what we thought. As a professional writer (your words not mine), you seem to have a problem with 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person verbiage. Are you mixing your meds again :doh:
     
  10. bitzman

    bitzman Well-Known Member

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    2nd person is the toughest

    Although I have written a novel, that was in 3rd person so I still don't know what second person is. I'll post whatever cars that I find interesting if the seller is known to me and I want to help them out. It doesn't bother me if someone else also mentions it--there's no exclusive on news. (For instance, the first results I saw on Amelia Island don't mention Cobras--just lots of Porsches. So I will look that up as it is becoming a hot new venue for selling expensive cars when it just used to be a concours.) I did sell a thoroughbred horse in 2011 for a friend --the last "vehicle" I sold in recent years. It was a bay gelding, 17 hands high but too old at six years to have any potential, and never wanted to finish any higher than third. I don't look for classic cars anymore, I can't figure out how you can let word be known you have found it without someone buying it out from under you. Back when I did it, it was before the internet (or maybe before I knew of the internet...)
     

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