1978 Dax Tojeiro Jaguar V12 Cobra Replica

Dax Cars was founded in 1968 in Harlow Essex and is best known for producing replicas of the mighty AC 427 Cobra. John Tojeiro was responsible for designing the original AC Ace, which became a ‘must have’ for true petrol heads, but soon became out of range for their pockets. The replica market has proved very strong and Dax is thought to have led the field in the Cobra styled products and certainly is amongst the top echelon in terms of build quality. Cars appeared with a wide range of running gear, popular of which were the various Jaguar and Rover engines.

This particular 1978 example was meticulously built using all new or reconditioned parts.  The build was featured in the September and October 1991 editions of ‘Car Builder’, which consisted of eleven pages of detail. The Jaguar V12 engine and automatic transmission was reconditioned, and a limited slip differential unit was fitted, as were Spax adjustable shock absorbers. The Dax sits on Halibrand replica wheels with polished split rims and Goodrich competition tyres that take care of the road holding. Cooling is controlled by manual and thermostatic electric twin fans and the fuel system has Facet pumps. The sports car is resplendent in black with silver centre stripes, a full brightwork pack, a polished chrome engine pack, and mesh guards for the oil cooler and the brake vents. The engine compartment has polished stainless steel bulkhead panels with a heat shield. Tinted sun visors are fitted, as well as side deflectors and polished stone guards. Sensibly, the sports car is equipped with triple wipers and a rollover bar. A tonneau cover is supplied, together with a tool kit and fire extinguisher with storage boxes that are contained within the boot compartment.

XHM 227T was purchased by its current custodian from DVCA in 2016 as a weekend motor car, but as time has passed, he has found that his preferred mode of transportation is really a traction engine! Recent maintenance includes the fitting of a new alloy fuel tank by DAX in 2018, and a rolling road set up by Sigma Engineering in June 2019. To improve ground clearance, new stainless side winder exhausts were fabricated by Top Gear of Bridport and the DAX has had general servicing and also an injector service, which enables the sports car to run on unleaded fuel.

Four box files of history are included in the sale, which contain amongst others the V5C registration certificate, a specification list, a photographic record of the build, parts lists, data, drawings and wiring diagrams.

Ready to thrill!

Auction Date: 20 May 2021