Ok, we're calling bullshit on this. For months, reports have indicated the Smart Roadster will have its swan song under the wing of UK-based Project Kimber group — a consortium that's been attempting to acquire rights to revive the car under the MG marque. But with new MG-Rover owner Nanjing recently announcing a plan to revive the MG TF on its own, Kimber was left one venerable British sports car brand short in its plans. What's a consortium to do?
AutoWeek is reporting Kimber has new plans in the works to produce the cars under the AC name — a brand best known for building the sports cars that became Shelby Cobra roadsters of the 1960s. AW reports — by way of an unnamed source — that Kimber plans to start production of its roadster next spring at one of two locations in Wales. OK, so...
The only trouble is this: AC Cars, a Malta-based group headed by Alan Lubinsky, a shady figure whose bid to launch a plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut — announced last year — has yet to materialize. In fact, many AC enthusiasts are skeptical of Lubinsky's motives, and that the company has built any cars in Malta at all. That's in part because, no reporter, in Malta or otherwise, has been able to get any kind of comment from AC Cars, or confirmation that the company's address isn't just an abandoned building in an industrial zone. We're keeping an eye on this one. Stay tuned.
Smart AC: UK-based Project Kimber to revive Smart Roadster under AC brand name [AutoWeek]
Related:
More on Project Kimber [internal]