The AC Aceca-Bristol offered here was completed on 19 March 1957 and sold new to Mr Jack Fernandez in Venezuela. The following October, it returned to the United Kingdom and was registered “VXW 26”. The car remained in the country for the next 35 years, during which time it was entered into a variety of competitive events. Later acquired by Adrian Hall, the Aceca most notably participated in the Carrera Panamericana in 1991 prior to being bought in 1994 by a prominent collector based on the West Coast of the United States.

The car’s race and rally outings continued well into the new millennium, with chassis number BE603 featuring in the Copperstate 1000 and California Mille. Alongside long-distance regularity events, the AC featured in national meetings such as the Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival, at Laguna Seca, plus a host of other club races.

Acquired in August 2017 by the consignor, a serial British sports car owner, the Aceca was shipped back home to the UK. Upon arrival it was decided to completely restore the car from top to bottom, with the experts at Stanton Motorsports of Berkshire entrusted with the task. Per the numerous invoices that are available to view on file, the AC was stripped back to its chassis, the engine and gearbox rebuilt, the interior retrimmed, and the bodywork painted as part of work that exceeded a staggering £315,000.

While the thorough restoration was not fully completed until the end of 2021, as early as July of that year the owner was putting the revitalised AC to work. He entered the 582-mile West Highland Cloverleaf rally before a November run in the Royal Automobile Club Rally of the Tests. Given its competitive use, the Aceca features auxiliary lights by PIAA, red leather-trimmed bucket seats featuring race harnesses, a roll cage, and a Moto-Lita steering wheel.

Sporting bright red paintwork with white roundels and an interior that perfectly blends classic styling with modern competition equipment, this Aceca will feel equally at home touring the open roads or running round a racetrack.