The patina dilemma
12/06/2020
Journalists and owners alike agreed that the AC Ace Bristol was one of the best sports cars of the post-war era.
A very special example went on sale at Artcurial last Thursday, December 3, 2020 at around 17:00.
The 1960 Ace Bristol with chassis number BEX1064 had only changed hands once before, and that was in 1971. The roadster has hardly been driven since then and therefore only has 18,000 km on the clock. The first owner, who had bought the sports car new from the French importer Chardonnet after winning all the prizes in a magazine quiz, kept the red car for 11 years before selling it on to his friend at a reasonable price. The new owner loved the car, even though he hardly ever drove it, admired it in the garage and had it serviced every year.
Everything was meticulously documented. A sensitive video on the Artcurial website shows the moment when the now elderly enthusiast sadly has to part with his sports car.
At the auction, the AC Ace Bristol achieved a price of EUR 369,520, which is at the upper end of the usual sums paid for an Ace Bristol, but also at the lower end of the estimated value of EUR 300,000 to 500,000, which was probably due to its completely transparent history and incredible original condition.
But now? What will the new owner of the Ace Bristol do?
Technically, the car certainly needs some help, but the chassis and the aluminum bodywork also certainly require some intervention.
The paint is peeling, in Switzerland this car would not receive a veteran's license and it is questionable whether an H license plate would be possible in Germany. But the car actually loses value as soon as it is repainted. And for reasons of preservation alone, something has to be done to protect the bare aluminum. So while the interior can probably be kept largely as it is today, considerable investment will be needed on the bodywork and technical side, pushing the total cost, including purchase price, far above other AC Ace Bristols.
It won't be easy to do this car justice. But I envy the new owner this dilemma ...
