Every AC model from the 1904 Auto-Carrier to the 2026 Cobra GT, grouped by family, with the Aceca shown by engine. A blank cell means no source opened gave a figure.
Production years
The Aceca was built for nine years, 1954 to 1963, alongside the Ace
Aceca by engine in green: 328 cars in all. Grey: every other post-war AC model.
The Aceca's run sat inside the Ace's and ended with it in 1963, when the Cobra took over the works. After 1973 AC built in small numbers, with long gaps between models.
Early cars, 1904 to 1929
Few figures survive for AC's first 25 years; numbers built here are estimates, mostly from Grace's Guide and AC Owners' Club accounts.
| Model | Years | Body | Engine | Number built |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-Carrier | 1904 to 1914 | Three-wheel goods tricar | 648 cc single-cylinder, air-cooled | about 1,500 |
| Sociable | 1907 to 1914 | Three-wheel passenger tricar | 648 cc single-cylinder, air-cooled | possibly 1,800 (Grace's Guide) |
| Light car (Fivet) | 1913 to 1916 | Four-wheel two-seater | Fivet four-cylinder, 10 or 12 hp | about 100 |
| 12 hp | 1920 to 1927 | Tourer, two-seater | Anzani four-cylinder | |
| AC Six (16/40 and later) | 1919 to 1929 | Tourer, two-seater, saloon | Weller 2-litre six, overhead camshaft |
The Weller six won the 1926 Monte Carlo Rally and stayed in production until 1963. No period road tests or launch prices have yet been sourced for these cars.
1930s sports cars
All used the 1,991 cc Weller six. Spencer counts at least 21 models from 1932 to 1939, and Classic & Sports Car gives 582 standard cars to 1939.
| Model | Years | Body | Power | UK price | Number built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16/56 | 1933 to 1935 | Chassis, Greyhound saloon, tourer | 56 bhp, one carburettor | £320 chassis, £435 Greyhound saloon (Motor Sport, Oct 1934) | |
| 16/66 | 1933 to 1935 | Open four-seater sports | 66 bhp, three carburettors | £450 (Motor Sport, Oct 1934) | |
| 16/60 and 16/70 | 1936 to 1939 | Sports, drophead, saloon, coupé | |||
| 16/80 Competition | 1935 to 1939 | Short-wheelbase two-seater | 80 bhp | 28 before the 1937 restyle | |
| 16/90 | 1938 to 1939 | Competition sports | 90 bhp, Arnott supercharger | supercharger £35 extra | 3 survive |
Prices before 1940 carried no purchase tax.
Post-war cars
| Model | Years | Body | Engine | Power | Period road test | UK price incl. tax | Number built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2-Litre | 1947 to 1958 | Two-door saloon; four-door from 1952 | 1,991 cc AC six | 74 bhp, later 85 bhp | The Motor, 1948: 80 mph, 0 to 60 mph 19.9 s | £1,277 as tested (1948) | 1,284 to 1,296, all bodies |
| Buckland tourer and drophead | 1948 to about 1956 | Open tourer, drophead coupé | as 2-Litre | as 2-Litre | about 70 Bucklands (in 2-Litre total) | ||
| Petite | 1952 to 1958 | Two-seat three-wheeler | 346 cc Villiers two-stroke single | £398 10s (Motor Sport, Nov 1952) | about 4,000 (unconfirmed) | ||
| Invalid carriages | about 1949 to 1976 | Single-seat three-wheeler | Villiers or BSA single | Government contract | several thousand |
Ace, Aceca and Greyhound
The Aceca was shown at Earls Court in October 1954, a year after the Ace, and built until 1963 with three engines. Its body used a steel-tube and ash frame panelled in aluminium, with a glassfibre bulkhead and a top-hinged tailgate.
| Model | Years | Body | Engine | Power | Period road test | UK price incl. tax | Number built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ace | 1953 to 1963 | Aluminium two-seat roadster | 1,991 cc AC six | 85 to 100 bhp | The Motor, Dec 1954: 103 mph, 0 to 60 mph 11.4 s | £1,439 0s 9d (March 1955) | about 220 |
| Ace-Bristol | 1956 to 1963 | as Ace | 1,971 cc Bristol six | 105 to 125 bhp | 463 to 466 | ||
| Ace 2.6 | 1961 to 1963 | as Ace | 2,553 cc Ford Zephyr six (Ruddspeed) | up to 170 bhp; test car 155 bhp | Motor Sport, Aug 1961: 123.8 mph, 0 to 60 mph 9.6 s | about £500 below the Ace-Bristol | 37 to 40 |
| Aceca | 1954 to 1963 | Aluminium fastback coupé, hatchback | 1,991 cc AC six | 85 to 90 bhp | Not yet found | £1,722 7s 6d (Motor Sport, March 1955) | 151 |
| Aceca-Bristol | 1956 to 1963 | as Aceca | 1,971 cc Bristol six | 105 or 125 bhp | The Autocar, 8 April 1960: 115.5 mph, 0 to 60 mph 10.3 s, about 20.5 mpg | £2,409 9s 2d as tested (1960) | 169 |
| Aceca 2.6 | 1961 to 1963 | as Aceca | 2,553 cc Ford Zephyr six | up to 170 bhp | 8 | ||
| Greyhound | 1959 to 1963 | 2+2 coupé, coil springs, longer wheelbase | AC, Bristol 2.0 or 2.2, or Ford 2.6 six | 75 to 170 bhp | The Motor, 1961, Bristol: 110 mph, 0 to 60 mph 11.4 s | £3,185 as tested (1961) | 82 or 83 |
The Aceca figures add up to 328, against 357 in Grace's Guide and about 325 from RM Sotheby's. The Autocar 1960 figures are from the reprint in this archive.
Cobra and the V8 cars
AC built the chassis and bodies at Thames Ditton; Shelby American fitted engines in California. Cobra totals are from the World Registry of Cobras and GT40s where quoted, otherwise from Classic & Sports Car.
| Model | Years | Body | Engine | Power | Period road test | UK price incl. tax | Number built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cobra 260 | 1962 to 1963 | Aluminium roadster, leaf springs | 4,261 cc Ford V8 | about 260 bhp | 75 | ||
| Cobra 289 (Mk I and Mk II) | 1963 to 1965 | Roadster, leaf springs | 4,727 cc Ford V8 | 271 bhp gross | Autocar: 138 mph, 0 to 60 mph 5.5 s | 571 to 580 | |
| Daytona coupé | 1964 to 1965 | Closed racing coupé | 4,727 cc Ford V8 | 6 | |||
| Cobra 427 (Mk III) | 1965 to 1967 | Roadster, coil springs | 6,997 cc Ford V8 | 425 bhp gross | 343, of which 260 road cars | ||
| AC 289 Sports | 1967 to 1969 | Roadster on Mk III chassis | 4,727 cc Ford V8 | 27 | |||
| AC 428 | 1965 to 1973 | Frua convertible and fastback | 7,016 cc Ford V8 (first six cars 427) | 345 bhp | Autocar, July 1968, automatic coupé: 141 mph, 0 to 60 mph 6.2 s | £4,610 convertible, £4,850 fastback (Hagerty) | 81: 52 fastbacks, 29 convertibles |
Later cars, 1979 to today
Performance figures for cars after 2000 are the maker's claims unless a magazine is named.
| Model | Years | Body | Engine | Power | Road test or claim | UK price | Number built |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3000ME | 1979 to 1984 (Thames Ditton); 1984 to 1985 (Scotland) | Glassfibre mid-engined coupé | 2,994 cc Ford V6, transverse | 138 bhp | Autocar, March 1980: about 120 mph | £11,300 list (1978); £13,238 as tested (1980) | 71 at Thames Ditton |
| Autokraft Mk IV Cobra | 1982 to 1996 | Aluminium roadster | 4,942 cc Ford V8 | about 250 bhp | about 480 | ||
| Brooklands Ace | 1993 to 2000 | Roadster, stainless-steel chassis | 4.6 or 5.0 Ford V8, supercharged option | 325 bhp (supercharged 5.0) | Autocar, Feb 1999: 145 mph, 0 to 60 mph 6.2 s | £79,750 as tested (1999) | about 58 |
| Superblower | 1997 to 2001 | Roadster | Supercharged Ford V8 | 22 | |||
| CRS | 1997 to 2001 | Carbon-bodied roadster | Ford V8 | 37 | |||
| Cobra 212 S/C | 2000 to 2001 | Carbon roadster | 3,506 cc Lotus twin-turbo V8 | 350 bhp | Claim: 0 to 60 mph 4 s | £70,000 | 2 |
| MkVI | from 2009 | Roadster, spaceframe | 6.2 GM V8 | ||||
| 378 GT Zagato | from 2012 | Two-seat roadster | 6.2 GM V8 | 434 bhp | Motor Sport, Oct 2012, estimate: 185 mph | about £90,000 to £110,000 proposed | |
| Cobra Series 1 Electric | from 2020 | Composite roadster | Electric, 54 kWh | 308 bhp | Claim: 0 to 62 mph 6.7 s, 150-mile range | £138,000 | 58 planned |
| Cobra 140 Charter Edition | from 2020 | Composite roadster | 2.3 Ford turbo four | about 350 bhp | Claim: 0 to 60 mph about 6 s | £85,000 | 58 planned |
| Cobra GT Roadster | revealed 2023; deliveries from June 2025 | Aluminium spaceframe, carbon body | 5.0 Ford V8, with or without supercharger | up to 654 bhp (2023) | Claim: 0 to 60 mph 3.4 s | from about £285,000 (2023) | in production |
| Cobra GT Coupé | revealed June 2026 | Coupé | Supercharged 5.0 Ford V8 | deliveries planned for 2028 |
Disagreements between sources
| Model | Item | What the sources say |
|---|---|---|
| Aceca | Total built | 328 by engine (151, 169, 8); 357 (Grace's Guide); about 325 (RM Sotheby's); other published figures run from 266 to 370 |
| Aceca | Source of the engine split | Grace's Guide gives 151 and 169 only; RM Sotheby's adds 8 Ford cars; the split appears to go back to Sedgwick and Gillies (1986) |
| Aceca, AC engine | Performance | RM Sotheby's quotes 0 to 60 mph 13.4 s and just over 100 mph without naming a test; The Motor's test not found |
| Ace | Total built | 689 (Grace's Guide); about 723 by engine; 732 (Shelby American Collection) |
| Ace | Launch price | £1,297 7s 6d in 1953 (Motor Sport, 1990) against £1,439 0s 9d in March 1955 |
| Ace 2.6 | Start year and number | 1961 (Motor Sport) or 1962 (Grace's Guide); 37 or about 40 |
| Ace-Bristol | Power | 120 bhp (Grace's Guide) to 125 bhp (RM Sotheby's) |
| Greyhound | Number built | 82 or 83 |
| 2-Litre | Total and end | 1,284 or 1,296; 1956 or 1958 |
| Petite | Dates and number | 1952 or 1953 to 1957 or 1958; about 4,000 from one source only |
| Cobra 289 | Number built | 571 (Classic & Sports Car) to 580; SAAC registry not available online |
| AC 428 | Body split | 52 fastbacks and 29 convertibles (Hagerty) or 51 and 30 |
| 3000ME | Number and end | 71 at Thames Ditton; some add about 30 from AC (Scotland); end 1984 or 1985 |
| 378 GT Zagato | Price | £89,990 (CAR, 2012) or about £110,000 (Motor Sport, 2012) |
| Cobra GT Roadster | Power | 654 bhp (2023 launch) or 720 bhp (2026 model year) |
Sources
- Grace's Guide: AC Cars, Sociable, Ace, Aceca, Greyhound
- AC Owners' Club: A Brief History of AC
- AC Heritage: 1939 AC 16/90
- Classic & Sports Car: AC 16/56 and 16/66, 16/60 and 16/70, Ace, Cobra
- ac2litre.com: Production
- Motor Sport, October 1934: A guide to 1935 high-performance cars
- Motor Sport, November 1952: Back to the cyclecar
- Motor Sport, March 1955: What some of the smaller firms are doing
- Motor Sport, November 2014: When they were new, AC Ace (August 1961 test)
- RM Sotheby's: 1955 AC Aceca, 1963 AC Aceca, 1958 Ace-Bristol, 1967 Shelby 427 Cobra
- This archive: The Autocar 1960 Aceca-Bristol test and Production
- Simanaitis Says: Road & Track's 1958 Aceca test
- Autozine: AC Cobra
- Classic Cars: AC 289 Sports
- Hagerty: AC 428
- Driven to Write: AC 3000ME and Cobra
- Autocar: Greatest road tests, AC Ace (1999)
- Iconic Auctioneers: 2001 AC Cobra 212 S/C
- Motor Sport, October 2012: 378 GT Zagato and CAR: 378 GT Zagato
- Autocar: Reborn AC Cobra in EV and 2.3-litre forms
- CAR: AC Cobra GT Roadster and AC Cars, June 2025
Wikipedia pages were used as leads only. Some figures in the tables, marked as estimates or ranges, rest on a single source and are listed above for checking.
About the author
A lifelong classic-car enthusiast in North Yorkshire, near Thornton-le-Dale, who owns and maintains an AC Aceca, writing the single-model reference he always wished existed. Read the full bio.