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AC Cars
by Philip Powell on December 13, 2006
One of my all-time-no-excuses sports car loves is the AC Ace, especially when powered by a Bristol 6-cylinder engine (which led to the type being described as an AC Bristol). I first came upon one at the spring Hockley Valley hillclimb north of Toronto. I was competing in a much-modified VW and between runs seated myself among the trees to watch competitors hang it out on the winding gravel road. Peter Hayes' AC Bristol blew me away with its performance and the Bristol's sweet sound. As almost everyone knows, the Ace was subsequently transformed by Carroll Shelby into the sensational AC Cobra. That might have been the end of it but AC's owners and enthusiast groups have longed for a rebirth without a monstruous American V-8, and now a British firm is poised to do just that. Project Kimber has purchased the rights and tooling for the Smart 2+2 that DaimlerChrysler unfortunately abandoned, and as reported by Autocar plans to revive it as a mid-engined (not front-wheel-drive, as I had erroneously reported) AC Ace coupe and roadster.
Permalink: British AC Ace Returns On a German Platform
Tags:
AC
Ace
Bristol
Cobra
DaimlerChrysler
Smart
Kimber
classic
vintage
antique
collector
old
car
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Trackback: http://publish.creative-weblogging.com/publish/mt-tb.pl/49613
Mr Wong
Vote for British AC Ace Returns On a German Platform:
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Rating: 6.00 out of 3 vote(s) cast.
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Response from:
Ben
(12/14/06 12:41am)
Response from:
Pieter Eksteen
(12/14/06 7:13am)
Not front-wheel drive. The 'AC Smart' will in all likelihood be rear-wheel drive - just like the original Smart.
-- Correct. See Ben's comment. And thanks for setting me straight.
Philip
-- Correct. See Ben's comment. And thanks for setting me straight.
Philip
Response from:
Ben
(12/14/06 5:36pm)
Now we've got that sorted, I for one welcome the proposal, though the British motor industry doesn't have the best record, especially with revivals.
A shame because I love British roadsters.
Hmm... we got the Smart Roadster here for a very short time. I'll add one to my list.
A shame because I love British roadsters.
Hmm... we got the Smart Roadster here for a very short time. I'll add one to my list.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_roadster"
rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_roadster
-- Thanks for correcting me. After doing a little more research I've changed the copy to read "mid engine."
Philip