AC Ace goes electric with 300bhp and 1134kg kerb weight

AC Cars has unveiled an electric version of its Ace roadster that tips the scales at just 1134kg, making it one of the lightest open-top EVs on sale.

The single-motor MG Cyberster weighs 1885kg and the Wiesmann Project Thunderball is said to be just above 1700kg. The combustion-engined Ace, meanwhile, is 1100kg.

The Ace Classic Electric uses gearbox maker Tremec’s ‘413 e-crate’ powertrain, designed as a drop-in replacement for traditional American V8s.

It packages a 26kWh battery pack, a 300bhp motor and the control electronics into a ‘block’ said to fit within the footprint of Chevrolet’s ubiquitous LS engine.

Carbonfibre bodywork, as used by the petrol Ace, helps to keep the EV’s weight down. 

AC has yet to announce performance figures for the Ace Classic Electric, but it should comfortably shade the petrol Ace, whose turbocharged 276bhp four-pot yields a 0-62mph sprint time of 4.6sec. It may even nudge the V8-powered Cobra GT, which hits 62mph in 3.4sec.

AC also claimed that the EV is capable of driving more than 180 miles between charges.

The EV will be offered with the same two bodystyles as the petrol car, drawing on the Bristol- and Ford-engined versions of the roadster from the 1950s and 1960s. 

Prices will start at $275,000 (the equivalent of £212,000) before tax or personalisation, and deliveries are scheduled to begin in spring next year.

The car will make its debut at the SEMA show Las Vegas on 5 November.