The AC Ace is one of the most iconic sports cars ever produced. In many ways, it’s the ideal silhouette for a performance car. The chic AC Ace has been an inspiration for many automakers over the decades. In fact, it’s often name-checked as being the most influential sports car design in history. Produced from 1953 to 1963, this car also has a unique origin story.
The AC Ace is based on an Italian sports car, the Ferrari 166 MM Barchetta. When John Tojeiro saw it, he was smitten. Born in England, Tojeiro was a lover of cars and essentially built his own version of the Barchetta. He used mostly Cooper body parts and an MG engine to achieve this. The first two versions of his race car proved successful and attracted a lot of attention. This provided John Tojeiro with some clout. He was able to sell his design to A.C. Cars Ltd., a company based in Surrey, England.
Though A.C. Cars had built a beautiful sports car in the 1930s, they mostly built more conservative automobiles. The company had been around since the early 1900s, but they made their first big splash in the 50s with the Ace. The car was a shot in the arm for the A.C. Car company. It had a sleek, chic, more youthful profile than most other cars on the market. It was glossy, powerful and brightly colored. The Ace said “optimism” to a country that was recovering from a war. Rationing was coming to an end. Cities were being rebuilt. People were employed, and fun was in the air again. British racing and sports cars were really coming into their own.
All told, slightly over 700 Aces made it to market over the course of a decade. During that time, the Ace evolved significantly. Every year or two, improvements were added. At first, the engines were slightly obsolete. Even with years of upgrades, the Ace was never capable of producing more than 170 horsepower. Of those, over 200 featured AC engines. About 45 had Ford engines. And about 460 contained Bristol engines. Regardless of the maker, all of the engines featured straight-six construction. The Ace inspired many other classic cars including the Shelby Cobra.