AC 12/40

 

The remarkably long-lived (1919-1963) overhead-cam straight-six is the engine responsible for establishing AC as a great sporting marque, before it abandoned manufacture of its own engines and turned to Bristol and Ford power. Unfortunately, this has led to the four-cylinder ACs of the 1920s being somewhat overlooked, even though they are just as good, or at least offer the same excellent value per cylinder.

 

AC 12/40

 

The 1500cc side-valve four was not actually AC’s own engine but an Anzani unit, best-known for its use in early Frazer Nashes, and few would criticise them from a performance angle. Tucked under the bonnet of the AC 12/40, it made for a car of pure sporting character, with its neat, beetle back aluminium body, left unpainted to show off the high quality of AC’s body-building.

While the first time behind the wheel of any unfamiliar Vintage car can be daunting, the AC does its best to make the driver welcome. Apart from being jolly quick, it is also ‘viceless and forgiving’, geared for high speeds but with silent changes easy to execute. Clearly, the AC 12/40 was a superior-breed, so it’s a pity and a wonder that fewer made and fewer still remain. Toby Bruce takes one of the two survivors for a spin in the June issue of The Automobile, available now.

 

Words by Zack Stiling. Photographs by Nick Clements.