Networks and Operators

AC Cars

Vehicle and Equipment Manufacturers

AC Cars is a British specialist car maker and one of the oldest independent car makers founded in Britain. It began in 1904 as Autocars and Accessories, whose first product was the Auto-Carrier three-wheeled delivery vehicle, and it became Auto Carriers Ltd. in 1911 and AC Cars Ltd. in 1922 while working from Thames Ditton in Surrey. The firm was liquidated in 1929 and restarted at very small scale under the Hurlock family. After the Second World War it built the Ace and Aceca sports cars, and from 1961 Carroll Shelby's request for a Ford V8 in the Ace chassis produced the AC Cobra. Later models include the AC 428, the mid-engined 3000ME and the three-wheeled Petite microcar. The company changed hands and legal form many times, from Autokraft and AC Car Group to AC Motor Holdings and AC Automotive in Germany, which went into liquidation in July 2023. The firm also built railbuses for British Rail and trains for the Southend Pier Railway.

Facts

Founded Year

1904 1

Connections

Has Vehicles

AC 2-Litre

Source AC 2-Litre (Wikipedia)

AC 3000ME

Source AC 3000ME (Wikipedia)

AC 378 GT Zagato

Source AC 378 GT Zagato (Wikipedia)

AC 428

Source AC 428 (Wikipedia)

AC 429

Source AC Cars (Wikipedia)

AC Ace

Source AC Ace (Wikipedia)

AC Ace (1993)

Source AC Cars (Wikipedia)

AC Aceca

Source AC Aceca (Wikipedia)

AC Autocarrier

Source AC Autocarrier (Wikipedia)

AC Cobra Mk IV

Source AC Cars (Wikipedia)

AC Greyhound

Source AC Greyhound (Wikipedia)

AC Mk V

Source AC Cars (Wikipedia)

AC Mk VI

Source AC Cars (Wikipedia)

AC Petite

Source AC Petite (Wikipedia)

AC Series 1 Electric

Source AC Cars (Wikipedia)

AC Sociable

Source AC Cars (Wikipedia)

AC Thundersley Invacar

Source AC Cars (Wikipedia)

In the Other Atlases

Same As

AC Cars

Also in Business Atlas: the same subject.

Located In

United Kingdom

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is located.

Source AC Cars (Wikipedia)Lead

Quote, Lead

AC Cars, originally incorporated as Auto Carriers Ltd., is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car makers founded in Britain.

Sources

1. AC Cars (Wikipedia)

History, Autocars and Accessories
In 1904, a new company was founded and named Autocars and Accessories; production started with the Auto-Carrier.
Lead
AC Cars, originally incorporated as Auto Carriers Ltd., is a British specialist automobile manufacturer and one of the oldest independent car makers founded in Britain.
Has Vehicles: AC Sociable, Make
Three years later, a passenger version appeared, called the A.C. Sociable.
Has Vehicles: AC Thundersley Invacar, Make
After the war, AC secured a large contract with the government to produce the fibreglass-bodied, single seat, Thundersley Invacar Type 57 invalid carriages with Villiers 2-stroke engines.
Has Vehicles: AC 429, Make
The car was called AC 429; it remained a one-off.
Has Vehicles: AC Cobra Mk IV, Make
he acquired some of the tooling from Thames Ditton and created the MKIV
Has Vehicles: AC Ace (1993), Make
At the 1993 London Motor Show, he introduced a new vehicle that he named the AC Ace.
Has Vehicles: AC Mk V, Make
In 2004, a new manufacturing plant was opened in Malta and production of the carbon-fibre-bodied AC MkV began.
Has Vehicles: AC Mk VI, Make
The car went into series production in July 2012 after two years of intense prototyping and development.
Has Vehicles: AC Series 1 Electric, Make
In 2020, AC Cars announced that they would be building a zero-emission version of the Cobra called the Series 1 Electric.