1956 | AC Aceca Bristol

• Highly desirable Bristol-engined Aceca

• Delivered new to Eastern Auto Co in Singapore

• Fully restored and comes with extensive history file

• Eligible for the Mille Miglia

The AC Aceca is one of the finest sporting GT cars of its time, and the beautifully restored example being offered for sale here is one of only 169 that were built new with the powerful Bristol straight-six engine.

Chassis number BE576 left the factory on 22 September 1956 as the sixth Bristol-engined Aceca, and its early build date means that it’s eligible for the modern-day Mille Miglia. It was finished in blue with cream leather seats and blue piping, and was sent to the Eastern Auto Company in Singapore. There it was bought was a WS Cowie, who was from Kuala Lumpur and went on to drive his Aceca in a support race for the 1960 Johore CoronationCup. 

The AC was later acquired by Richard King, an American businessman who lived and worked in Singapore. The car’s history file even includes some of his old insurance certificates from the Automobile Association of Singapore. When Mr King returned to the USA in 1972, he took the Aceca with him to his home in Carmel, California, where he was a neighbour of Clint Eastwood. 

By that time, the car was in need of restoration, but having bought some engine parts from Bristol’s Chiswick-based service department in April 1973, the work unfortunately went little further and the unfinished Aceca remained in Mr King’s garage for the next 40 years. 

It was then acquired in 2015 by an English enthusiast via Gullwing Motors of New York. Having been shipped across to the UK, the AC was treated to a full restoration, which included having the Bristol 100D engine rebuilt to fast-road specification by Coltec Racing Engines in Suffolk. 

The restoration is fully documented within the car’s comprehensive history file, and the owner used the Aceca on the Mille Miglia before selling it in 2018. Since then, it has been fastidiously maintained and has benefited from the fitment of an aluminium radiator and an electric cooling fan. 

With its combination of fabulous styling and that crisp, powerful six-cylinder engine, this AC Aceca Bristol is a rare and extremely attractive car that is still superbly presented after its rebuild.