AC’s Ace Bristol was among the finest all-around sports cars of the 1950s – a lightweight roadster that combined quality construction, timeless beauty, and giant-killing performance in one effective package. Between 1956 and 1963, AC Cars Ltd. built just 466 Bristol-powered Aces, and the hand-built, alloy-bodied machines dominated the two-litre category in international racing.

According to factory records, this Ace Bristol, chassis BEX 494, is a left-handdrive export model completed on October 1, 1958. Finished in white with red leather upholstery, and equipped with the high-performance 100 D2 engine, this car was originally retailed through Hap Dressel’s AC Imports Inc. of Arlington, Virginia. In 1962, Tim Aiken, a Yale University student, purchased the AC from a sports car dealer in Manhattan, New York. He drove the car for about a year before it blew a head gasket, leading to an early retirement. A restoration effort commenced in 1989, proceeded in fits and starts, and was finally completed by the Michigan-based owner who acquired it from Mr. Aiken in 2005. Handsome and accurately presented today, BEX 494 retains its matching-numbers engine, factory data tag, and nicely patinated leather upholstery. The odometer shows approximately 13,000 miles, a figure the consignor believes to be original, given its limited use and decades of storage. Never before offered for public sale, and presented with tools as well as its original instruction and spare parts books, this Ace Bristol is a particularly appealing example of this rare, event-eligible British sports car.