AC Cars is the oldest British car manufacturer with continuous production since 1901 and was founded by the Weller brothers. The original company name was Autocarriers Ltd, and their first product was a three-wheeled delivery vehicle which they made and sold successfully over several years.
After presenting their first car at the Crystal Palace motor show in 1903, they moved to their well-known location of The Ferrworks at Thames Ditton in Surrey in 1911 and there adopted the now iconic 'AC' roundel logo. In 1922 the name was formally changed to AC Cars Ltd.
Over the following years the company's reputation for building quality cars with a sporting edge grew, with their often precarious financial situation occasionally interupting production. After the war AC secured a large contract with the government to produce the fibreglass-bodied, single seat, Thundersley Invacar Type 57 invalid carriage with Villiers 2-stroke engines. They continued to be built until 1976 and were an important source of revenue to the company.
In the post war years AC built many highly regarded two seater sports cars, such as the Ace and Aceca and of course the V8-engined Cobra and it's close association with the legendary Carroll Shelby, with whom it enjoyed a lot of competition success. In the latter part of the 1960s they produced the spectacular italian-bodied Frua 428, in both coupe and convertible spec, but due to production difficulties only 80 cars were made until production ceased in 1973. The other ray of hope in the 70s was the long-awaited and exciting 3000ME, but this ultimately was not a success and just 71 were sold.
Both the 70s and 80s were uncertain decades for the company and in 1984 the old Thames Ditton factory and showroom was sold for housing development. In the ensuing years AC went through several changes of ownership, locations and undertook various different car projects.
Luckily the story has a happy ending and in 2023 AC Cars announced prodution of a new model, the Cobra GT Roadster, to be followed by a Coupe version. They have new headquarters at Donington Park and future car production will be carried out on the south coat of England.
ADR Engineering is a specialist car engineering company focussing on the restoration of classic cars and the manufacture of high performance race cars. Based in Wokingham, Berkshire, ADR has its roots in an engineering business founded in the early 1950’s supplying Motorsport and non-motorsport companies with specialised, bespoke components. However it was not until 2001 that we produced the prototype of their first complete racing car, the ADR Sports 1000.
They had hardly gone into production of the Sport 2 when interest from partners in both the USA and France caused them to raise the bar higher. The burgeoning SCCA C-Sport category in America led us to design an evolution of the Sport 2 which would have FIA and SCCA approval and bring options to drivers around the world to compete in endurance, sprint, bike-engines or automotive power. This car is the ADR3 and they currently offer four versions of this model.
In 2012 ADR Engineering expanded into the classic car conversion and restoration markets, which has since proven to be a rapidly expanding market. Focussing on the classic Jaguars such as the MK2, XK and E-Types they offer a first class service for the connoisseur that enjoys a nostalgic car with modern performance.
As well as Jaguars, they work on all types of other classic cars including models such as the 1960's Mini, Ford GT40 Mustangs, Ferrari P4's and Lamborghini race cars.
AK Sportscars Ltd was established in the mid 1980s and specialises in the manufacture of a replica, the AK 427, the design of which is based on an iconic 1960s two seater sports car. The name AK comes from the initials of the two founders of the company.
Based in Peterborough, AK Sportscars are one of the biggest producers of this type of replica car in the country. but have endeavoured to keep the company on a friendly basis. Knowing all their customers personally and always putting them first allows AK Sportscars to cater for their individual needs with an after sales service that is renowned for being second to none.
AK Sportscars firmly believe that, to keep quality high, everything that can be should be and is, manufactured in-house.
In 2019, AK Sports Cars announced the arrival of their second model, the AKSS, built in co-operation with their sister company JFG Classics. In late 2021 the company announced the development of their third model, the AK40, based on the highly successful 60s endurance racer, the Ford GT40.
Sydney Allard was one of only a few men to have designed, built and then put into production, cars bearing their own name. Even fewer, if any, have gone on to build their own racing cars and compete in them, with such great achievements in such a wide range of motor sport competitions.
The Allard Motor Company was founded in London in 1945, although Sidney Allard had been building and racing specials for almost ten years. Production continued until 1958, during which time the company produced a number of highly individual sports and racing cars, enjoying considerable competition success with them.
One of the last models to be built was the Palm Beach Mk2, a pretty open two seater sports car, just eight of which were made between 1956 and 1958. Recently, the current Gloucester based company led by Lloyd and Alan Allard, together with some of the original design and engineering team, have announced plans to build a 'continuation' of this car, to be known as the Palm Beach Mk3.
After a gap of over seventy years, the Allard family are also offering once again, other genuine original specification Allards. Various models are available, apart from the Palm Beach Mk3, and the JR, J2 & J3 will all be hand-built to order by the Allard team.
