Quote:
Originally Posted by Rickd
,,,AC had a nice little - very pretty - car, on an island just off the European continent, and no plan or vision whatsoever, other than primarily getting another 4 cylinder engine to continue enjoying the countryside,,,
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Another one who knows not of what he speaks -
AC ACE History
Early cars used AC's elderly 100 bhp (75 kW) two-litre overhead cam
straight-six engine (circa 1953)
From 1956, there was the option of Bristol Cars' two-litre 120 bhp (89 kW)
straight-six with 3 downdraught carburettors and slick four-speed gearbox.
In 1961 a new 2.6-litre (2,553 cc /155.8 cu in)
straight-six 'Ruddspeed' option was available, adapted by Ken Rudd from the unit used in the Ford Zephyr. It used three Weber or SU carburetors and either a 'Mays' or an iron cast head. This setup boosted the car's performance further, with some versions tuned to 170 bhp (127 kW), providing a top speed of 130 mph (209 km/h) and 0–60 mph (0–100 km/h) in 8.1 seconds.
Had AC not hooked up with Shelby I'm sure a much more refined AC ACE would have continued to evolve, the Ruddspeed was a formidable racer in its' own right at the time. Shelby came along and continued what AC had already started. As I said in post #103, Brits were the first to put V8's in the ACE, not Shelby.
The fact is, Shelby was a value-added re-seller for AC Bristol in the USA and nothing more. Give credit where credit is due, Shelby stuffed a larger V8 in a British roadster and called it a "Cobra", that's it. This whole thing reminds me of the history surrounding Tesla vs. Edison. Edison gets all the credit but it was done on Tesla's back using his inventions and patents.