The 1959 AC Bristol now offered on eBay Motors represents the original iteration of the AC Ace body style and platform that would be adopted by Carroll Shelby three years later. That move would kick-start Ford’s dominance of global road racing circuits of the era.
Of course, well before the Cobra was contemplated, the AC Ace enjoyed motorsports success of its own. Britain’s AC stuffed a 2.0-liter inline six-cylinder engine under the hood of a hand-crafted aluminum-bodied car designed by John Tojeiro in 1953. With a curb weight hovering around 1,600 pounds, the 100 horsepower produced by its admittedly aged engine still felt formidable.
One-hundred-twenty horsepower (later bumped to 128) was enough to keep the ultra-lightweight Bristol in the winner’s circle.
Serious racing called for a more modern motor. By 1956, the AC Ace was available with a new 2.0-liter mill (sourced from Bristol Cars) which generated 120 horsepower in a livelier manner. The unit was derived from a BMW design and quickly found its way to the race track: in 1957 and 1958 the newly-dubbed AC Bristol was rounding the turns at Le Mans and earning serious respect for its handling prowess, even winning the two-liter class in 1959.
A barebones cockpit is representative of the era.
This 1959 example was completely restored, and has apparently been kept off the road since the late 1970s. Every single aspect of the car has been addressed, including a full rebuild for the engine and the four-speed gearbox, and the suspension and chassis were also refreshed. Originality was the name of the game with this project, as all parts were replaced with new-old-stock components, with even the tires being sourced from its home country of England. (Numerous spares are included with the vehicle). A factory hardtop comes with this AC Bristol, and it’s been stripped down to bare metal to be ready for whatever color paint the new owner wants to spray.
You can go out and buy replica Cobras all day long—but you won’t find a single replica AC Bristol anywhere. Sure, you might get tired of explaining to people at gas stations that it’s not a Shelby, but the rarity of owning the original roadster that inspired a legion of copycats—one with deep roots in the classic sports car scene—more than makes up for it.
