the meaning of AC in AC cobra

[Doug I]

Weller Bros. opened for business in England on March 8 1901, producing cars and actively advertising their products. Preliminary work also commenced on what was to become the '20 H.P. Weller Touring Car'. Business was brisk as they supplied the market with their vehicles and acted as the appointed repair agents for De Dion et Bouton vehicles. Additional capital came into the company in 1902 via shareholders, the business expanded and the name was changed to Weller Bros. Ltd. The Weller Touring Car and its 10hp stable mate were shown in 1903 at the London Automobile Show in the Crystal Palace. Business increased and the company rapidly expanded. In 1904 the seeds of history were sown with the introduction of a commercial vehicle, the 'AutoCarrier' – all three wheels of it - and sales boomed. By 1909 the company name had become Autocarriers Ltd and the logo that we know today was being used. In 1911 the company moved to the now famous premises in Thames Ditton, near London, and changed its name to AC Cars. The company is still producing cars to this day.

Producing commercial and general purpose vehicles kept the engineers at AC Cars busy, but development work always continued on finding ways of obtaining more power and speed from their cars. AC Cars forged its place in history in 1922 when they were the first company in history to build a car that covered a measured distance of 100 miles in less than one hour.

In the face of the economic hardships of the early 1930’s AC Cars knew that to keep sales orders coming in they had to distinguish themselves in the eyes of the buying public. AC Cars did this the only way they knew – by building race-wining cars. In 1933 four AC's entered in the RAC Rally, took prizes and soon after exports to North American began.

The London Motor Show of 1954 saw an event that was pivotal in changing the sports car industry. AC Cars had been working on a new design utilizing a 121cu.in Bristol in-line 6 cylinder engine. The basic design followed the 2-door open top roadster trend of the time and AC Cars called it the Ace. This car saw tremendous success on the track, particularly in 1957 and ’58 where the AC Ace finished well up the leader board in the Le Mans classic endurance race. It was there that the Ace attracted the attention of a chicken farmer turned race driver by the name of Carroll Shelby.

Business at AC Cars was brisk during the late 50’s and early 60’s, mainly due to the racing success of their cars and the popularity of their designs. Charles Hurlock was one of the owners of AC Cars in 1962, and one morning he had a letter on his desk from a Mr. Carroll Shelby of America, who wanted to know if they would be interested in combining their Ace with a new American V8 engine.