Your Chance To Own A British V8 Sports Car You've Never Heard Of

Be honest, how much do you know about the Series 2 AC Ace?

The original Ace was a very popular sports car in the 1950s and 60s, perhaps best known in the wider motoring world as the basis for the now-iconic AC Cobra. But when production stopped in 1963, that was the end of the Ace line.

Well, not quite. Some 30 years later the AC company – now under the ownership of a Cobra restoration shop called Autokraft – started making small numbers of a new car, called the Brooklands Ace. But then the firm went into receivership in 1996, and was bought by a South African businessman who renamed the firm AC Car Group and gave the Brooklands Ace a serious redesign. Oh, and he dropped Brooklands name.

This was the result. The Series 2 AC Ace was built from 1998 to 2000, with just 12 examples rolling off the production line before a lack of interest from the public caused its demise. It’s powered by a 5.0-litre Ford V8 producing 240bhp for the rear wheels to enjoy, courtesy of a five-speed Borg Warner manual gearbox and a Quaife LSD. The body panels are carbon fibre with aluminium doors and sills, with a stainless steel monocoque chassis designed by British race car legends Reynard.

This particular car, up for auction at Collecting Cars and resplendent in red paint with a black mohair soft-top over cream leather, was bought unassembled from the factory in 2003, but wasn’t registered until 2009. It’s for sale with 1855 miles on the clock, but the seller notes that the original odometer failed in 2014 and was replaced with a new one – the actual chassis mileage is around 3455, while the engine has around 15,000 miles on it. It’ll get a full service before going to its new owner, with new spark plugs and rebuilt shock absorbers that were fitted last year. And it comes with a removable red hard-top, too.

The AC Ace is an interesting machine that never really found a fanbase in its time. But today it’s a rarity and one that British sports car fans may well want to snap up for their collection. You can almost guarantee that you won’t bump into another one.