1960 AC Aceca

AC Cars was one of Britain's first automobile manufacturers, with production beginning in 1901. Over the years that followed, the company would establish a successful competition pedigree and become renowned for performance.

When World War II came to a close and peacetime resumed, AC worked to replace the Weller-designed, overhead cam, six-cylinder, two-liter 85 horsepower engine, which had first seen use in 1919. Working with a chassis engineer and racing car designer named John Tojeiro, the company acquired his design that had been used for Cliff Davis' sports racer. After modifications were made to make it more suitable for road use, the new model was introduced as the Ace. It had a 75-mm tubular ladder frame chassis with an independent suspension using transverse leaf springs and wishbones, powered by AC's venerable, 2.0-liter, long-stroke six-cylinder engine. The elegant aluminum coachwork had a familiar appearance to Ferrari's 166 Barchetta, complemented by modern touches, refinement, and sophistication.

The roadster was followed by the closed variant dubbed the Aceca, introduced in 1954 at the London Motor Show. The hand-built coupe bodywork included a bulkhead of sound-absorbing fiberglass between the engine and the passenger compartment. The chassis-mounted rear differential with rubber bushings reduced noise and vibration. These refinements made the Grand Turismo suitable for spirited cruising over long distances.

Total production of the first-edition Acecas reached 151 examples, powered by the original AC 2-liter engines and denoted by the 'AE' chassis number prefix.

A new model was made available beginning in 1956 known as the Aceca-Bristol. It was equipped with a 1,971 cubic centimeter, six-cylinder Bristol engine that was based on the pre-war BMW 328 unit that had hemispherical combustion chambers and an inclined valve train. In competition, it dominated the SCCA E- and D-Production classes between 1957 and 1961. In 1958 and 1959, it won its class at Sebring and earned a class victory at LeMans in 1959.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2020