- AC Cars building new versions of Ace sports car
- Modern Ace offers gas and electric powertrains
- Both powertrains deliver approximately 300 hp
AC Cars will use next week’s 2024 SEMA show in Las Vegas to present an electric version of its modern Ace sports car.
AC is the U.K.’s oldest surviving car company, and the company that supplied Carroll Shelby with Ace chassis for the original Shelby Cobra. It recently launched a modern version of the Ace that comes in two forms, the Ace Classic and Ace Bristol Classic.
AC Ace Classic Electric
At the SEMA show, the company will unveil a third version, the Ace Classic Electric.
The car’s electric powertrain is a drop-in solution from Tremec, an automotive supplier most widely recognized for its transmissions. Dubbed the eGT413 Modular EV powertrain, it consists of a single electric motor rated at 302 hp and a battery with 72 kwh of capacity. The battery supports DC fast charging, and AC estimates that owners will get more than 200 miles from a full charge.
AC Ace Classic Electric
For buyers still with gasoline in their veins, the Ace Classic and Ace Bristol Classic are offered with a Ford-sourced 2.0-liter turbo-4 rated at 300 hp. While the gas models use a 6-speed manual transmission, AC hasn’t said what transmission the electric model will use but EVs typically have automatics. Regardless of powertrain, drive is to the rear wheels only.
Impressively, AC said the Ace Electric is targeted to weigh less than 2,500 pounds, which is similar to the weight of the gas models that tip the scales at 2,425 pounds.
AC said it used original drawings and historic cars to shape the body of its modern Ace cars. The body is made from carbon fiber, and some subtle differences were made, like the more graceful rolling flanks instead of the somewhat flat-sided original design. The dimensions have mostly been left untouched, unlike AC’s modern Cobra, known as the Cobra GT Roadster, which was made bigger than the original to enable taller drivers to fit comfortably.
The Ace Classic Electric is based on the Ace Classic design. This design uses the slimmer grille used on later versions of the original Ace, and which is shared with the Cobra, while the Ace Bristol Classic features the larger grille used on early examples of the original Ace.
Original AC Ace Bristol (left) and AC Cobra Mk2
Reservations for the Ace Classic Electric are already being taken and deliveries are scheduled to start in 2025. Pricing for the U.S. market starts at $275,000.
Handling the development is AC Cars Classics, a recently established division at AC that groups all of the company’s various classic car programs under the one umbrella. AC Cars Classics will also handle production of the modern Ace at AC’s plant in the U.K. Electric versions bound for the U.S. will be shipped to a Tremec facility in North America for installation of the powertrain.
