AC Greyhound

AC Greyhound Saloon 1962

The AC Greyhound was a sports car of the British car manufacturer AC Cars Ltd.. , Which was produced from 1959 to 1963 in a small series.

Model history

The AC Greyhound was presented at the London Motor Show in October 1959. He was a two-door, four-seat coupe with a hatchback body, which the previous models of the brand, the open two-seater Ace and the closed two-seater Aceca added. The Greyhound used the known tube frame and the Ace Aceca, but had a delay of 250 mm wheelbase.

The body

The body of the Greyhound was designed by Alan Turner, the chief engineer of AC Cars. The plan reflected in the core of the lines of the Aston Martin DB4, but was less elegant proportioned according to the general view. In a very long bonnet is followed by a fairly scarce, high passenger cell. Turner's first draft was still wearing a very wide C-pillar with tight, articulated side windows. For volume production of the rear windows were enlarged, and the hatchback received a generous panoramic window, whose design at the Bristol 405 remembered. At the rear, finally found clearly perceptible fins, carrying the tail lights. The body of the production models was hand-crafted from aluminum.

The motors

On the drive side AC offered to the Greyhound with three engines that were each coupled to a manual four-speed transmission with optional overdrive:

  • Initially was the Greyhound with a two -liter six -cylinder engine available, the AC himself had constructed. The engine gave 102 hp and was generally described as sluggish. Only a few customers ordered this unit.
  • Besides was also two -liter six- cylinder competitors of Bristol Cars Ltd.. available. It was a system based on a BMW design engine, which was no longer offered Bristol at this time for his own models: The T 102 called two-liter engine had been at the factory for the last time used in the Bristol 405, whose production had been set in 1958. The contemporary Bristol model, the 406, but instead received an enlarged 2.2 -liter version of the engine called T110. In AC, the two-liter made ​​105 hp, but was much revving and torquey own more than ACs engine. Most greyhounds were equipped with the two-liter engine from Bristol. A few models to have been next to it comes with the 2.2 -liter Bristol T - 110 engine; This engine generated 125 horsepower. Bristol changed in 1961 with the Model 407 to the American Chrysler engines. Despite this, the company delivered first on their own six-cylinder to AC; in the summer of 1962, the production of the engine, however, was finally discontinued.
  • As a replacement for the Bristol Motor AC was referring to the last year of production a 2.6 -liter six- cylinder engine from the British Ford branch, which was actually designed for the sedan Zephyr. Although the engine generated 170 horsepower, but was phlegmatic and altered by its mass, the weight distribution of the Greyhound disadvantageous. Few Greyhounds were equipped with this engine.

The production

AC presented 1959-1963 a total of 82 copies ago (plus a prototype ). Reason for the low penetration of the car was next to the not very attractive appearance, especially the high price: The Greyhound was about half more expensive than a Jaguar XK 150, but with 195 hp almost twice as strong as the AC and also his hand - of most observers, - also clearly looked better.

AC presented in the summer of 1963 a production, as the company had to realize that no serious competition to the Aston Martin or equipped with American engines Bristol could be established with the available engines. AC tried initially to find other engines for the Greyhound - to the eight-cylinder Daimler and the small aluminum eight cylinder Buick, the short time was later taken over by Rover was - it was ultimately nothing. The company had realized that with the little Cobras that emerged at the same time for Carroll Shelby and were based on the ACE Ace chassis to earn much more than was the Greyhound.

An indirect sequel to the Greyhound was the AC 428, which connected an extended Cobra chassis with a large eight-cylinder American and Italian bodywork. He, too, only a few dozen copies were produced.

Competitors

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