AC Ace Bristol

The father of the Cobra is here.

History:

A.C. introduced AC Ace in 1957. Engineered by John Tojiero, it is a two-seater with aluminum-alloy body and built atop a lightweight tubular chassis that had a fully independent suspension and powered by a six-cylinder engine. After Three years, the Bristol version was introduced and gave the car a better performance.

It became popular in motor sports. One of the best moment for AC Ace is it's appearance in LeMans in 1957 when it placed seventh in overall This was followed by an eighth place at the 1958 edition. During this time the Ace provided direct competition to the Jaguar XK 120 and 140, Austin-Healey 100M and Porsche 356 Speedster.

In 1961, AC charged their engine once again to a 2553cc Zepher unit. Only 46 were made with it, and had a more prominent front air intake. One of these models was purchased by Carroll Shelby, no doubt inspired by the cars performance at LeMans. He convinced the Hurlocks that Ford's small-block V8 was the way to go.

After 680 cars were built, the Ace was succeeded by the Ford V8-powered Cobra. Since idea was simple and development was completed quickly and this British-American hybrid became an instant winner.

Comment: This car looks very classic indeed and like what I always admire in Shelby Cobra. Its design always stands out. It looks perfect in black and red interior.


P.S. After looking at the pictures, I just noticed that it also resembles the old Corvette.

src: http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z9303/AC-Ace-Bristol.aspx

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