Return of the AC Ace.
1958 AC Ace
It is probably fair to say that the majority of Americans have no idea what an AC Ace is, so maybe its no big deal to them that the name is likely to be revived by DaimlerChrysler and put onto a new sports car version of the old Smart roadster. But for those of us who do know what an Ace is, and who appreciate really small sports cars, this is a big deal.
The Smart Roadster was a good looking fun little car, so it was a shame to hear that it was getting cut from production in order to save money. But rumor has it that DaimlerChrysler is on the verge of selling the entire Smart Roadster venture, complete with tooling, to UK group called Project Kimber. This group has some stand out backing including Gordon Murray of McLaren F1 fame, and they are poised to make the deal go through.
Preliminary sketches of the car look awesome. Slated for a 2009 arrival in the US, the AC Ace will be powered by a 1.0 liter 3 cylinder Mitsubishi motor, but there are possibilities of a turbo charged power plant as well as some type of hybrid drive train down the road. Pricing will be somewhere in the ball park of $23,000-$37,000 with roughly a 7000 car production run for the first year. If the car is successful look for Project Kimber to develop a more extensive line of vehicles possibly bringing back other famous AC names….
-Bill Mertz
AC Ace, Smart car, Smart Roadster, sports car
