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AC MA-200 - Operation successful, patient dead

Name: AC MA-200 1963
Brand: AC

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Created on June 29, 2023

Text:

Paul Krüger

Photos:

Bonhams

AC MA-200 (1963) - At first glance, it looks very similar to the Maserati Mistral

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AC MA-200 (1963) - the Englishman is, however, considerably less delicate and playful than the Italian

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AC MA-200 (1963) - In order not to keep out all the cooling air, the license plate sits under the intake instead of inside it

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Successful mix of styles: Although hardly anyone knew of its existence until a few years ago, the prototype looks very familiar

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AC MA-200 (1963) - While the front is more Italian in character, the British style dominates at the rear

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AC MA-200 (1963) - from the diagonal rear it could also be the bigger brother of the MGB

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Please be friendly: both the AC and the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, which pokes its nose cheekily into the picture, smile at the viewer

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Distinctive elegance: the rear corresponds to the style of the time and is somewhere between an MGB and a Ferrari 250 GT. A hint of Karmann-Ghia can also be detected

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Optical illusion 1: There is no gap between the side window and the hood. The reflection of the roller shutter plays a trick on the observer

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Optical illusion 2: Now the mirroring gives the illusion of a more playful rear end

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Similar, but different: the bumper of the Maserati Mistral is more bent, the trough in front of the headlight is shorter

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AC MA-200 (1963) - A Mistral only at first glance: the flared wheel arch and the simpler air outlet give away the doppelganger

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AC MA-200 (1963) - A smorgasbord: Hella fog lights, Lucas parking lights and indicators from the Taunus 15 M

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AC MA-200 (1963) - experimental stage: the position of the driver's side windshield wiper was hardly ready for series production

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Fashionable teardrop: semi-recessed headlights were very popular on sports cars in the early sixties

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Simple and beautiful: painted wire wheels with chrome-plated wing nuts

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Search game for the restorer: The rear lights come from the NSU-Fiat Weinsberg, which was only built 6200 times

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Because there was no room in the middle due to the license plate, the prototype has two trunk locks. However, only the right-hand one can be locked

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AC MA-200 (1963) - The warm exhaust air from the engine compartment escapes through a simple trapezoid with two chrome clips in the fender

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AC MA-200 (1963) - The door handle is also "borrowed". It comes from the Ford Cortina

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Instead of a cable pull: two chrome-plated rotary handles unlock the hood

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Feels as good as it looks: Aluminum sports steering wheel with riveted wooden rim

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Horizontally quilted door panel with large map pocket as in the Triumph TR4

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Shortly before success: Some details such as the positioning of the speedometer and rev counter are not yet the last word in elegance

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Etude in black: apart from the steering wheel, the prototype dispenses with any homely wooden decor

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AC MA-200 (1963) - The dashboard with its two large round arches borrows from the Chevrolet Corvette

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Hip gold scale: Either the bucket seats with rigid backrests fit - or they don't

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Heavily offset gearshift and tiny ashtray on the cardan tunnel

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Classic: chrome-framed round instruments and toggle switches on the centerpiece of the dashboard

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Smiths instruments - naturally. Pragmatic: rev counter with retrofitted color dot scaling. Even a HiPo-289 does not rev up to 10,000

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Glove box in the left-hand dashboard arch

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Common parts policy: standardized pedals for clutch, accelerator and brake

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Only 13,000 "HiPo 289" were built between 1963 and 1967. A pre-production example works in the Marcewski Special

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AC MA-200 (1963) - The 4.7-liter V8 comes from the Ford Fairlane

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AC MA-200 (1963) - The Ford V8 delivers 275 SAE horsepower at 6000 rpm

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Under the chrome-plated air filter, an Autolite four-barrel carburetor takes care of the mixture

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AC MA-200 (1963) - The valve covers were also chrome-plated ex works

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Filigree hood hinge and hood in Superleggera design

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AC MA-200 (1963) - The cooling water tank of the Jaguar E-Type on the unusually high track rod

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AC MA-200 (1963) - Here you can see the frame made of square tubes and the steering linkage with universal joint

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AC MA-200 (1963) - nameplate with chassis number and original engine number

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Summary

That must be a typo. After all, everyone knows that the last sports car from Thames Ditton was called the "ME 3000". Almost unknown, however, is the prototype that was supposed to succeed the AC Ace and civilize the Shelby Cobra in 1963, but never got the chance. This article tells the story of the AC MA-200 and shows many photos of the one-off.

This article contains the following chapters

From the race track to the road
For private use only
Always trouble with the suppliers

Estimated reading time: 8min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Around 1960, Thames Ditton began to consider a successor to the AC Ace. Although the sports car presented in 1953 with its individually suspended rear wheels was still technically far more modern than its rigid-axle competitors, stylistically the rounded roadster with its pronounced fender curves was just as outdated as the Jaguar XK 150 and Triumph TR3. In addition, engine supplier Bristol had announced that production of the two-liter six-cylinder engine would be discontinued without replacement in 1961. When the two competitors from Coventry also launched completely new models in the same year, AC chief designer Zdzisław Teofil Marczewski was commissioned to design a suitable sports car in addition to a new engine.

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