1956 - 1964 AC Ace Bristol Roadster
Posted by David Kinney
The base motor for the AC Ace was a six-cylinder designed in 1919 by John Weller. The lightweight, 1991-cc unit was made largely of aluminum, but with a cast iron head. It nobly continued in production until the 1960s. For fans of the British marque, though, the introduction of the Bristol engine to the little roadster in 1956 was when the Ace really began to matter.
This turn of events is largely due to John Tojeiro, a young race car builder whose tubular-framed racer was fitted with a Bristol 2-liter, inline six-cylinder motor, rack-and-pinion steering, Girling hydraulic shock absorbers, four-wheel independent suspension, and Turner light alloy wheels. AC liked what it saw, so it bought one of the race cars from Tojeiro employee Vincent Davison to hastily develop into what would become the Ace. Fitted with a body that was a clone of the Ferrari Superleggera Touring 166 Mille Miglia Barchetta, Davison’s chassis appeared on the AC stand at the 1953 Earl’s Court Motor Show. Alongside it was an actual AC-built display chassis.
Production cars had a different treatment to the front and rear fenders than the show car; however, the look and feel of the Barchetta remained. Originally powered only by the Weller-designed motor, in 1956 the 120-hp Bristol unit was available as an option. With a 4-speed manual transmission, front disc brakes, and a sub-2,000-pound weight achieved, in part, through the use of aluminum for the body, the Ace Bristol was a genuine sporting machine. In just a few short years, the car would become the basis for one of the best-known sports cars of all time, the Shelby Cobra. Of course, that is another story.
Whereas little else matters in Cobra but speed and noise, the Ace Bristol is not just about going fast (which it can do); it’s about getting there with flair, style and a good degree of grace, in one of the best cars ever produced by a cottage industry builder.
(From the December 2003 issue of Sports Car Market magazine.)