AC Cars is reintroducing one of the all-time great sports cars to the road with the announcement of the new AC Ace and AC Ace Bristol from the newly formed AC Cars Classics division.
Originally famed for its lightweight engineering and competition pace, as well as it sublime looks, the AC Ace was hugely respected around the world as a quintessential British roadster. This provided the inspiration for the new AC Ace Classic and AC Ace Bristol Classic, and returns Britain’s oldest active vehicle manufacturer to its engineering roots.
Beautifully svelte, the new AC Ace Classics feature unique designs that capture the halcyon days of roadsters, yet use cutting edge construction techniques to deliver benchmark ride and handling. An original-type chassis, carbon-fibre bodywork and a modern powertrain blend seamlessly with the iconic styling to deliver an unmatched driving experience.
Offering two distinct personalities of car – the new models reflect the evolution of the original AC Ace over its 10 year production run.
Speaking of the announcement David Conza, CEO of AC Cars, said: “The new AC Ace and Ace Bristol Classics prove that a classically styled car can have outstanding performance and handling. Returning to the themes of light and powerful, the work of AC Cars Classics in the engineering of these cars demonstrates our ability to delicately blend grace with modern ability.”
AC Cars Classics is the heritage division of AC Cars, established to honour some of the famous marque’s most memorable models. Delivered from AC Cars’ advanced facility on the UK’s south coast, Classics’ vehicles deliver a timeless style of motoring incorporating modern technology where appropriate.
Reservations and orders are open now, with prices for the AC Ace and Ace Bristol Classic starting from £175,000 inclusive of VAT. Each car will bear an official chassis number, denoting it as a true AC and a descendent of their respective historic model and deliveries are expected to start in summer 2025.
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The story of the AC Ace and racing
Throughout the company’s 123-year history, no other model from AC Cars’ past has the same significance as the AC Ace. With an innovative chassis for its time, and a lightweight aluminium body it gained the respect of enthusiasts and racers alike for its everyday drivability and competition pace. This is the car that would eventually transform into the AC Cobra of legend.
2024 marks the 70th anniversary of the AC Ace’s debut in competition, and the car fought for honours at that most famous of races, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, in 1957 and 1958. Success came in 1959 when an AC Ace Bristol finished first in the 2-litre GT class and seventh overall behind six 3-litre cars.
The AC Ace was no stranger to success in the US,and proved highly effective at the SCCA National Championships. Very popularamongst private owners, it dominated the E Production class – winning threeyears running at the Sebring 12-Hour race. The AC Ace was clearly highlyrespected, and influential magazine Sports Car Illustrated declared thecar: “…as close to a racing sports car you can get and still have a ‘streetable’machine.”
For the new AC Ace Classics, AC Cars’ heritagedivision have focused on two iterations of the historic sports car. Withidentical engineering, construction and powertrains they offer clientsalternative personalities of roadster.
For aficionados of the earlier AC Ace, the AC AceBristol Classic features the distinctive ‘smiling face’ – providing aninstantly recognisable and charming aesthetic.
The second AC Ace Classic draws on the lastiteration of the original car, which saw out the model’s production in 1963. Thismore streamlined front was carried over to the first generation of AC Cobrasthat followed.
Working with highly detailed data, historic carsand traditional bodywork techniques, the AC team have sculpted the car’sgraceful lines to combine both old and new elements. Both versions featuregraceful rolling flanks and wheel arches, in contrast to the flat-sidedoriginal design. The precision carbon-fibre bodywork to be crafted at thecompany’s UK facility is immensely strong yet light, and incorporates the sametechniques as AC Cars’ flagship model, the AC Cobra GT Roadster.
Powering the new AC Ace Classics is a fuel-injected2.3-litre straight-4 EcoBoost engine developing in excess 300 bhp, with asix-speed manual gearbox. Entirely appropriate for the size of and weight ofcar it features a specially tuned exhaust system to produce an appropriatesoundtrack for every drive.
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