- Comprehensive restoration by David Steinman in 2002
- Second comprehensive restoration finished in 2019 by Automotive Restoration Inc.
- 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance class winner and Lord Montague Award winner
- Speed and Style Award winner at the 2019 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance
- CCCA National First Prize; AACA National First Prize and Senior Award winner
LOT 120
Selling on Friday
1929 AC Acedes-Magna Tourer
AC's roots go back to the turn of the 20th century, in West Norwood, London when the Weller Brothers, with financial backing from a local butcher named John Portwine, set their sights on building an automobile. Portwine was worried about the cost of the Weller Brothers' design for a complex 20-horsepower touring car and encouraged the brothers to try something cheaper - so a three-wheel delivery car was built and labeled as an "Auto-Carrier". It turned out to be a reasonable success and helped establish the brothers as legitimate manufacturers. Following World War I, John Weller began designing an advanced overhead cam six-cylinder engine which he felt would compete with the best W.O. Bentley had to offer. Unfortunately, Weller was ousted from his company in a takeover, but his engine lived on to be found in nearly every subsequent AC automobile for the next 40 years.
A stunning example of a rare pre-war AC is this 1929 AC Acedes-Magna Tourer, which has an unforgettable appearance. This AC was originally sold by famous London AC dealer F.B. Goodchild, LTD, and acquired by well-known collector John Moir from a United Kingdom collector in the early 2000s. Mr. Moir would entrust David Steinman with an extensive comprehensive restoration, as his work can be seen on numerous concours fields, including the 18th green of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Finishing the restoration in 2002, the outcome was truly special and put to the test a short year later, as this AC was invited to the 2003 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. When the concours was all said and done, this AC would garner a class award, as well as the Lord Montague Award for the most significant British car. After this outing, the Magna Tourer would go on to show at multiple other concours and garner its CCCA National First Prize and AACA National First Prize and Senior Award badges.
Sold among the John Moir Collection in 2014, this special AC would find the home of a new discerning collector and garner yet another comprehensive high-quality restoration just a few years ago by Automotive Restorations Inc. in Stratford, Connecticut. A beautiful outcome once again after its second restoration, this example was invited to the 2019 Greenwich Concours d'Elegance where it won the prestigious Speed and Style Award. This AC was the recipient of a recent freshening in 2022 and is ready to grace the show field today.
Outfitted with stylish sports-touring coachwork, the body is finished in a typical flourish for AC cars of the time, a deep crimson red paired with a lovely eye-catching polished bonnet. Wire spoke wheels, a spare mounted tire on the passenger side, fender-mounted lights, a tight-fitting black convertible top, and an integrated rear-mounted trunk with a set of wine glasses in it, round out the posh appearance of the exterior.
The right-hand drive open interior is trimmed in black upholstery and features a woodgrain dash, a dividing glass between the front and rear compartments, and a rear-mounted 8-day Jaeger Paris clock. The finely tuned overhead-cam two-litre inline-six produces a comfortable 65 horsepower, which sends power to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gearbox. The chassis is constructed of semi-elliptic live axles and mechanical drum brakes, to round out its proper British mechanics.
Beautifully presented, thanks to its two comprehensive restorations in the last 20 years, this Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance award-winning AC with its striking polished hood will garner attention to whatever show field its next caretaker decides to stroll onto.
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