AC Aceca Production Figures
AC Cars built 328 Acecas in total at Thames Ditton between 1954 and 1963: 151 AC-engined, 169 Aceca-Bristols, and 8 Aceca 2.6s. Below are the same figures in structured, machine-readable form.
Source: compiled from AC Owners' Club records and long-established published references on AC Cars production. Some published totals differ by a small margin — see the note below the table.
Production totals
| Variant | Engine | Years | Built |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aceca (AE) | AC 2.0-litre Light Six | 1954–1963 | 151 |
| Aceca-Bristol (BE) | Bristol 100-series 2.0-litre six | 1956–1963 | 169 |
| Aceca 2.6 (RS) | Ford Zephyr 2.6-litre (Ruddspeed tune) | 1961–1963 | 8 |
| Total | 1954–1963 | 328 |
Per-variant notes
Aceca (AE)
The original Aceca on AC's own overhead-cam six with triple SU carburettors.
Aceca-Bristol (BE)
The Bristol-engined car with triple Solex 32 BI downdraught carburettors — the highest-performance production Aceca until the 2.6.
Aceca 2.6 (RS)
The final and rarest Aceca, on the Ruddspeed-tuned Ford Zephyr six with triple carburettors.
Rarity and survivors
Rarity does not track value on the Aceca. The Bristol-engined car, at 169 built, is the most numerous of the three — yet it is the most sought-after and most valuable. The AC-engined Aceca, at 151, is the rarer of the two mainstream cars. And the Ford-engined Aceca 2.6 is rarer than both: just eight were made, and only around six are believed to survive.
The Bristol car was also the most exported. Published figures for how many of the 169 Bristol cars were built in left-hand-drive export (BEX) specification vary between sources — roughly 64 to 81 — with the balance right-hand drive. Records for a hand-built 1950s car are rarely perfectly consistent, so these splits are best read as close approximations.
The most reliable survivor record is a living one. Rather than a fixed figure, this archive maintains a public chassis registry that grows as owners add their cars — the closest thing to an up-to-date census of surviving Acecas by chassis number, variant and country. Search the registry and view the map if your car is not yet listed, adding it improves the record for everyone.
Chassis prefixes at a glance
| Prefix | Meaning |
|---|---|
| AE | AC-engined Aceca, right-hand drive |
| AEX | AC-engined Aceca, export / left-hand drive |
| BE | Aceca-Bristol, right-hand drive |
| BEX | Aceca-Bristol, export / left-hand drive |
| RS | Aceca 2.6 (Ruddspeed), right-hand drive |
| RSX | Aceca 2.6, export / left-hand drive |
Attribution & caveat
The figures above are drawn from AC Owners' Club records and long-established published references on AC Cars production. Some published totals differ by a small margin — records for a hand-built car of the 1950s are not always perfectly consistent. Where a variance exists, this archive follows the AC Owners' Club registrar.
For deeper context on individual cars, see the Chassis Guide. For the wider historical picture, see the History page.
About the author
An independent classic-car enthusiast in North Yorkshire with decades of hands-on experience on British classics — including the AC Aceca — writing the single-model reference he always wished existed. Read the full bio.