Our legendary and also fully matching numbers & colours AC Bristol, better known as '5BPG', was once labelled 'the fastest AC Ace in the UK'. And whether she is worthy of this name: she competed in 110 perfectly documented races, achieved exceptional results and crowned herself king of circuits such as Goodwood, Brands Hatch, Montlhéry, Oulton Park and Silverstone, among others. This is also perfectly demonstrable with an unseen number of racing photos where you can see the Bristol running neck and neck with cars such as a Ferrari 250 GTO, which today can only be admired in museums. A nomination and participation in Le Mans Historic is therefore indicative of the exceptional character of this car.

It was on 15 September 1956 that Ian Smith from West Yorkshire was able to get his hands on one of only 686 AC Bristols. The composition of the car shows that he had fine taste and an eye for detail. He chose the rare light dynasty blue paint with the red leather interior and richly complemented this with options such as a hardtop, overdrive, hood scoop and a curved windshield. The overall picture was a beautiful, unique and above-average equipped Bristol. Besides the perfect composition of the car, his goal was also to make it the fastest specimen driving around. From the start, he had its performance remarkably improved by Bristol Works. This paid off, with its perfect upgrades to the engine and suspension, the car managed to rack up a magnificent record of victories from 1956 to 1965. Smith himself was so proud of the car that he did not hesitate to drive the Bristol on a daily basis. It was more than normal for him to drive the car to the races on public roads, win a few prizes and then drive it home on public roads - talk about quality!

The car distinguishes itself not only by its unseen and well-padded history, which can serve perfectly as Sunday literature (12 ring binders full of original invoices, letters, restoration photos, official documents, race results and race photos in which you can perfectly trace the remarkable evolution of this car over the years), but also by its qualitative concours restoration, with an eye for detail and originality, which the car underwent under the strict watchful eye of Tony Bancroft, the then chairman of the AC register. She was restored in detail and with an eye on originality, nuts & bolts by Brooklands Motor Company. Such cars deserve only the best, and again, with the help of some former AC factory employees, the car was restored completely to original specifications.

The bodywork was completely reformed on the original body mould used during production in the 1950s. Exceptionally for cars of this age and with this racing history, it was possible to recover most of the original body panels. Every panel has been restored exactly as original specifications, leaving countless hours of craftsmanship hidden beneath the paint. British craftsmanship at its best! One of the most difficult procedures throughout the process what finding exact original colour of the car. Since only 2 examples left the factory in the beautiful Light Dynasty Blue and no exact formula was available, it seemed like a hopeless task to find out the colour code, until some remnants of the original paint were found on an original side mirror (which, by the way, is still present). Using this colour sample, they were able to establish the original colour composition and reapply it expertly to the car. As a finishing touch, the white hood scoop and matching white wire wheels complete the picture. The result is impressive and still so breathtaking that it won prizes at the Zoute Concours D 'élégance in Knokke (Belgium) last year. The car continues to win prizes is ready to take part in many a concours, races or rallies.

Make no mistake this car is a real wolf in sheep's clothing and has not lost any of its touch. This concours restored example has not lost its exceptional racing performance, starting the original and matching 100D type 2.0-litre 6-cylinder engine spontaneously puts a smile on everyone's face and, besides being a treat for the eye, it is also an enormous pleasure to drive. The shifting is immensely smooth and makes this car perfectly drivable for every type of driver and ride. The car sounds exceptionally beautiful, has a lot of power and corners tremendously well. It is therefore a real thrill to take a seat behind the wheel.

This car contains the best of both worlds, a very original car with an exceptional history but also a perfect driver's car that will make mouths drop open at every rally, race or Sunday drive.

This is an opportunity that will rarely arise again to own a perfectly restored and exceptionally documented AC Ace-Bristol that has owned famous racing names over the years, won numerous victories in historic races, is fully matched and also drives fantastically. Now available at Rock 'N Roll Classics!