AC 212 SC

[ak1234]

What ever became of this car .. lotus engine .. it was real hot looking.

[jbottini]

A few were built, Carbon fibre and Lotus engines, some with 302's and exist in UK as I understand it. see Trevor legates book. I saw and rode one in UK..very impressive, unique engine noise as the Lotus V8 is a "flat crank" unit

[Chafford]

The MKIV CRS 'Carbon Road Series' had the 302 Ford V8 with 225hp standard. This was a different model from the 212 S/C which had the Esprit V8 engine.
   
   My understanding is that the current MKV is an updated version of the CRS.
   
   MKIV CRS
   
   
   
   MKV
   
   

[jbottini]

you are probably right,  recall the CRS bodies about and a finished car or two, thought one was Lotus and one a 302, they may have had different nomenclature, but were ;except for engine /trans I believe, the same car.  Now that I think about it..I'm not sure what the lotus engine was in that I rode...could have been an Ace or Aceca...I do recall the exhaust note though, real rorty and aggressive, V8 but not.

[SB7019]

I believe only one or maybe two 212's were built.   The sound was certainly very different - but to my ear not nearly as attractive as the "normal" V8s.  It did not have the same "muscular" tone and just did not make the sort of noises you expect from a Cobra.  The list price in 2001 was £69,000 versus the CRS at £39,000 (and the Aluminium bodied Superblower and Continuation 427  at £79,000 and £150,000 respectively).  I guess most people decided that for £30,000 you could buy a lot of extra power for the CRS and still keep the better noise!

[Mark IV]

The SC/212 was the answer to the question nobody asked...as I told Luby, people exprct a "Cobra" to have lotsa torque. The Lotus engine was a great piece...at 6K revs. I understand that John Owen has investment in the engine, he helped design it after all, but it was not the right powerplant for the car and thus, no one really wanted one.
   
   But hey, what do I know...I'm just a "Bloody American"
   
   And Jim, the car we drove with the "Lotus Type 918 V8" was A. L.'s demo Ace, I drove it from Weybridge to the outskirts  of London, at a right fair clip!!!!
   
   Rick

[ak1234]

Wow ... 2 great pics ... so the Lotus engine was wimpy ... so the CRS .. lead into the MKV ??   What about the suspension and frame ..in comparison to the MKIV .. the MKV I looked at appeared to have a very different set up from my MKIV.
   
   Rick you were correct my front brakes are vented on the MKIV ... but the MKV I had noticed were much larger diameter ...
   
   Ron

[cobham cobra]

FYI, I saw two cars for sale last January at Bramley Motors (London + Surrey), a yellow CRS with silver stripes which looked very much like the photo above in this thread and this one at just under USD 125k.
   http://www.bramleyweb.co.uk/carsales/details.asp?StockID=1541 It looks as though the yellow one has now gone.
   John.

[keithjecks]

I tried the 212 myself once. It would not be right to describe it as wimpy - it was very fast, but for me just made the wrong noises, and the Lotus engine didn't seem to fit the character of the car

[Chafford]

This is the only 212 S/C I've seen. Were there any others?
   
   

[ak1234]

Thats the baby in the pic ???  Love that look .. real hot.

[nikbj68]

quote:Originally posted by Chafford
   This is the only 212 S/C I've seen. Were there any others?
   

   From the What`s New? thread:
   

quote:Originally posted by Malta
   ...2) There were two 212 SC's built. Both to my knowledge are with happy owners. The engine was a 3.5 ltr twin turbo, 350 hp, 300lb ft torque with 85% ot the torque available between 1500 and 5500 rpm and weighed less than 200 kg complete, with a 6 speed manual transmission. The total weight of the car was less than 1000kg, Lotus stopped development and production of the V8 engine hence it was no longer an option.

Ooops...didn`t see that you`d already highlighted John Owen`s reply in the 'General' forum. [:I]

[MkIV Lux]

Here is another photo. Car looks unused yet (see totally clean exhaust) and unfinished (wind wings and rear view mirrors and rear fender protection missing). Interesting to note the special front spoiler.
   
   Is this chassis number CRS(L)9518??
   
   

[Mark IV]

Note the front air "splitters" missing from other photos...
   
   Rick

[nikbj68]

I like the 'stance' of it, and the exhausts exiting below the bodyline. Did the splitters not work very well?
   
   Check out the molds to the right of the car.... look like toilets to me!!!