1958 AC Aceca Bristol Coupé
Chassis no. BEX693
Engine no. 85C 1518 (see text)

The success of Cliff Davis's Tojeiro sports racer prompted AC Cars to put the design into production in 1954 as the Ace. The Davis car's pretty Ferrari 166-inspired barchetta bodywork was retained, as was John Tojeiro's twin-tube ladder frame chassis and Cooper-influenced all-independent suspension, but the power unit was AC's own venerable, 2-litre, long-stroke six. This single-overhead-camshaft engine originated in 1919 and with a modest 80bhp (later 100bhp) on tap, endowed the Ace with respectable, if not outstanding, performance.

In 1955 AC added a hardtop version - the fastback-styled Aceca - and from 1956 onwards both models became available with the more powerful Bristol 2-litre, six-cylinder engine. The l,971cc Bristol six was based on that of the pre-war BMW 328, which featured an ingenious cylinder head, designed by Rudolf Schleicher, incorporating hemispherical combustion chambers and inclined valves without recourse to overhead, or twin, camshafts. Instead, the earlier BMW Type 319 engine's single block-mounted camshaft and pushrod valve actuation were retained, thus avoiding an expensive redesign. Two rocker shafts were employed, one situated above each bank of valves, giving the engine an external appearance almost indistinguishable from that of a twin-overhead-cam design. Downdraft inlet ports contributed to the motor's deep breathing, and its tune-ability made it a popular choice for British racing car constructors, most notably Cooper, during the 1950s. Externally, Bristol's clone of the BMW motor differed little from the German original, the most obvious difference being the adoption of SU, rather than Solex, carburettors part way through production. The most significant changes made by the Bristol designers were metallurgical, their utilisation of the highest quality materials contributing to greatly increased engine life. Up to 130bhp was available from the Bristol unit in road trim, in which form the Ace/Aceca could touch 195km/h, while around 150bhp could be wrung from it for racing.

The combination of a fine-handling chassis and a decent power-to-weight ratio - in Bristol-engined form the car could touch 190km/h - helped the Ace version to numerous successes in production sports car racing, arguably its finest achievement being a 1st-in-class and 7th overall finish at Le Mans in 1959.

Since AC was not a volume-type manufacturer, production numbers for the Aceca are astonishingly low. 328 Aceca's in total were built, including just 169 with Bristol power, of which only 64 left hand drive examples.

Offered here is an original left-hand drive Aceca, fitted with the Bristol engine from new, which makes it exceptionally rare. 'BEX693' left the factory on 8th September 1958 in silver with a red interior bound for Foreign Cars in the USA for first owner Mr C Bross. The Aceca was later owned by William C Durant in California (old US-Title 1989-2002 available). In the mid-2000s the Aceca moved to Friesenheim, Germany, and in 2008 belonged to a prominent AC Owners' Club member who had the car restored (photographs and invoices available). The owner used the car on multiple club rallies and concours events throughout Europe (rally plates with car). The AC later went to the UK where it was changed from left- to right-hand drive (for its then UK owner) before being converted back to left-hand drive by Bristol specialists IN Racing in Nottingham, UK on its return to Continental Europe. Since 2016 the car has belonged to a Belgian Bristol collector.

The Aceca is beautifully finished in British Racing Green with a most-suitable beige interior, while other notable features include a four-speed overdrive gearbox; knock-off wire wheels, high torque starter motor; and an original steering box (most have been converted to rack-and-pinion). Fitted with Bristol engine number 85C 1518, which was installed in 2017 by Bristol specialists IN Racing.

The car comes with UK V5C Registration Certificate and an EU taxes-paid document.