1958 AC ACE BRISTOL
Although many most readily associate Britain’s oldest independent car marque with the Cobra, the Ace can be considered AC’s first true sports car.
After making the switch from three wheels to four, AC raised its profile following World War Two by tapping into demand for British sports cars. The tubular chassis underneath the pretty and curvaceous body was engineered by John Tojeiro and the Ace also holds the accolade for being the first post-war sports car to have allindependent suspension, by transverse leafs and wishbones.
The Ace did, however, lack power
– its 75bhp powerplant dated back to the 1920s, in fact – so it received a 125bhp Bristol powerplant three years after its launch in 1956. Bristol-engined Aces were then campaigned at Le Mans between 1957 and 1962 – one won its two-litre class and finished seventh overall in 1959.
The 462 Ace Bristols built might not sound like a lot but it was a resounding success by AC’s hand-made standards. It does, however, mean that survivors today are rare and highly prized.
We decided to include this particular Ace within our quartet of SA-30 highlights simply because of how well it drives. The engine needs to be revved to get the best out of it, but that’s no hardship; the throaty exhaust rasp does a fabulous job of egging you on.
This Ace underwent a documented engine replacement in 1997, having spent its life in France. It was restored in 1998 and imported into the UK in 2012, when it was subject to a further comprehensive re-build. The gearbox was also re-built in 2018, and it shows – it’s a delight to switch between ratios smoothly and quickly using the lever, which falls nicely to hand thanks to the fact that its angled towards the driver.
There’s plenty of feedback through the steering wheel, which is well weighted on the move, but there is a degree of play because its governed by a Bishop cam steering box.
We can forgive this, though, because there is minimal roll, good grip and, surprisingly, the solid-feeling Ace rides well, too. Being so low to the ground (you can reach down and touch it) we were expecting to be jolted by uneven bits of road, though this certainly wasn’t the case.