In 1953, the introduction of the Ace based on the Tojeiro sports racing cars built by John Tojeiro. AC’s interpretation had much the same styling with a 2 liter aluminum six and a 4 speed syncromesh gearbox. The chassis was welded “ladder” type with all around independent suspension. This car could top the 100 mph mark and was an almost immediate success.
Ace/Ace-Bristol
1954-1962 Production of 226/466 units Power from an 1991cc straight six.
A Bristol engine was available beginning in 1956.
Aceca/Aceca-Bristol
1953-1963 Production
of 150/169 units A fast back, aluminum bodied car. Overdrive was an option,
and disc brakes starting in 1958.
Ace-Aceca
2.6
1961-1963 Production
of 47 units The body was changed on this one and the styling would be
the “daddy” of the Cobra.
Cobra
260, 289, and Mk II 289 1962,
1963-1965 Production of 75 51 and 528 (respectively) Thank you Carroll
Shelby for your idea of stuffing the Ford V8 4 liter into an AC chassis!
AC sent the rolling chassis fitted with disc brakes to America and Mr.
Shelby took over from there. The Mk II version had rack and pinion steering
on the same chassis.
Cobra
Mk III 289 and 427
1965-1968 production of 27 and 348 respectively. Chassis modifications
were made on the Mk III and the large 427 7 liter engine was added. Talk
about a beast! It had a top speed of 165 mph and does 0 to 60 in 4.2 seconds.
Cobra 428 1966-1973 production of 86 units This was a longer wheel base version usually fitted with the Galaxie engine. 2 styles were offered: a fastback (58 units) and a convertible (28 units)
