The late S. F. Edge was associated with the A.C. concern right back from the time it operated under the name of Auto-Carriers, Ltd., which was eventually contracted to the famous initials A.C. when the company was re-formed. The three-wheeled A.C. Sociable was one of the most popular vehicles of its day, and although having not the slightest claim to being a sports car, did extraordinarily well in reliability trials of the pre-1914 era.
Alongside the Sociable, there was produced a four-cylinder car of 1096-c.c. (59-mm. x 100-mm.) which, in 1916, was easily the best-looking light car on the market. However, it was not until after the Kaiser war that the A.C. definitely became a power in the sports-car world. The famous Anzani-engined four-cylinder and the 2-litre six-cylinder cars deservedly won for A.C. the description of being "The Rolls-Royce of light cars."
The four-cylinder A.C. was available as a sports two-seater in 1920 with the side-valve 1496-c.c. (69-mm. x 100-mm.) Anzani engine that was eventually fitted to many fast light cars. It was a successful attempt to produce a scaled-down version of a big sports car, and its low, racy-looking lines, polished aluminum body, and distinctive-looking radiator were a familiar sight in all manner of sporting activity. The three-speed gearbox had the curious location of being unit-constructed with the rear axle. A disc-type brake was carried on an extension of the final drive, and was a feature of A.C.s for many years.
A Zenith carburetter was employed, whilst ignition was produced from a Fellowes magneto. A 1.5-litre A.C., with an experimental o.h.v. engine, actually recorded a speed of 105.14 m.p.h. at Brooklands in 1921, driven by Harry G. Hawker, the world-famous airman. However, the chief exponent of A.C.s was J. A. Joyce, who raced at Brooklands and at various speed and hill-climb events with great success. His A.C. was the first under 1,500-c.c. car to cover a hundred miles in the hour.
The 2-litre six-cylinder car came out in 1922, and was probably the first successful small-six ever built. The 1991-c.c. engine (65 x 100-mm.) was years ahead of its time, and is actually being used, with certain modifications, of course, in the high- grade A.C. sports cars being built up to the present time. As originally marketed, the engine was notably light in weight, the cylinder block and crankcase being of light alloy, and "wet" cylinder liners being employed. The valves were operated by a single overhead camshaft, and the cylinder head could be removed without disturbing the valve timing. A four-bearing crankshaft was utilised, and from its rear the magneto and dynamo were driven by right-angle skew gearing on each side of the crankcase.
The back-axle gearbox was retained, which, in order to be as compact as possible, had to be of the three-speed variety. The familiar disc-type brake was also featured. The 2-litre car broke the 24-hours world's record at 82.59 m.p.h. in 1924, with T. Gillett at the wheel. In 1925 a semi-streamlined, aluminium-bodied two-seater appeared with a to 1 top gear, and had a reputed output of 60 b.h.p. Raymond Mays acquired one of these cars, and had it supercharged. The Montlhery A.C. came out for 1926, and had a guaranteed speed of 85 m.p.h.
By 1928 the car had grown slightly heavier and had a longer wheelbase and wider track. The clutch was also redesigned, but the distinctive appearance of the car was spoiled by the adoption of a taller radiator. The 2-litre remained virtually unchanged until 1933, when the chassis was completely redesigned. The quarter-elliptic springs gave way to a semi-elliptic layout, and a double-dropped, pressed-steel frame was adopted. The gearbox moved away from the back axle to occupy a more normal position, in unit with the clutch and engine.
From time to time various versions of the car re- appeared. The 16/56 and 16/66 were marketed from 1933 to 1935, the 16/80 from 1936 to 1937, and a 16/70 model in 1938. A supercharged version called the 16/90 was available just prior to the outbreak of war. The majority of the later A.C. Acedes cars featured a Wilson self-changing gearbox, although a normal box was also listed. After the war AC had to reconvert their factory for the production of civilian vehicles. By 1947 they had announced very modern-looking closed cars.
