Cliff Davis’s successful Tojeiro sports racer led AC Cars to mass-produce the design in 1954, naming it the Ace. Retaining the elegant Ferrari 166-inspired barchetta bodywork and John Tojeiro’s chassis, it featured AC’s 2-liter six-cylinder engine, initially delivering 80bhp. Later, the Bristol 2-liter six-cylinder engine, renowned for its superior performance, became an option, boosting power up to 130bhp for road use and 150bhp for racing.
In 1955, AC introduced the Aceca, a hardtop version of the Ace, available with the Bristol engine from 1956. Although more powerful, the Bristol-equipped Ace was significantly pricier than its AC-engined counterpart, yet it became the preferred choice, with over half of the 723 Aces produced fitted with Bristol engines by the end of production in 1963.
The Ace achieved notable success in sports car racing, including a remarkable 1st-in-class and 7th overall finish at Le Mans in 1959. Towards the end of its production, AC offered the Ace with a 2.6-liter Ford Zephyr engine, with only 36 examples produced, making it the rarest variant.
Photo Source: RM Sotheby’s
