You can have your Shelby Cobras. Sure, they're fast and furious and come with a great racing pedigree. But I'll take the elegant AC Ace from which the Cobra was derived, even though it can't match the latter's speed. And as a particular favorite, the Ace Bristol, arguably the best of the three roadsters the company offered at various times in its history. Developed from a racing chassis designed by John Tojeiro, the AC was simple in concept, with a tube frame, all-round independent suspension by transverse leaf springs, Al-Fin drum brakes (front discs later), 4-speed transmission with overdrive, and a lightweight body. The original AC 2-liter 6-cylinder engine featured an aluminum block and head, a single-overhead camshaft, and three SU carbs. 90 horses at 4500 may not seem like much but remember, this was a long-stroke, very flexible engine dating back to 1922 in its original concept.
The Ace was quick enough but really came alive when the Bristol engine was offered as an option. This six was actually a BMW design which found its way into England's Bristol car company, first via a pre-war licensing agreement and then as war reparations. It had a peculiar valve layout, described as "side camshaft, pushrod rocker, and cross pushrod with hemispherical combustion chambers." Amazingly this combination worked well, producing 125 hp from 1971 c.c's, and with a mellow tenor saxophone sound as a bonus. The third engine offered by AC came from, of all places, an English Ford sedan, the Zephyr. A pushrod straight six, the 120 hp Ford was well-suited to modification and in Stage 5 tune produced 170 hp, more than enough for the extra 112 pounds it carried.
I would love to possess any of these exquisite sports cars but my budget would barely allow a well-detailed scale model. If you, however, would like an AC and have a fat bank account then be sure to fly into Phoenix on January 21st for the special "British Are Coming" sale at RM Auction's annual classics event. No less than three AC's are up for auction, including a 1956 Ace roadster, a 1959 Ace Bristol roadster, and a rare 1960 AC Aceca Bristol coupe. Your only problem is to decide which of the three to bid on but if I were in your shoes I'd go for the Bristol. Or, what the heck, you could buy all three and start a collection.
[Photo Credit: Darin Schnabel]
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