AC records show that a left-hand drive Ace-Bristol, chassis no BEX 477, was shipped from the fatory on July 24 1958, To AC's Swiss dealer Patthey. He had an establishment in Neuchatel where, apart fron ACs, he sold assorted American ironmongery such as Plymouths, as well as VWs and Porsches. Patthey had in fact himself competed at Le Mans in 1958 in an Ace (chassis no BEX 399).
And there, for a while, the story ends. It looks as Patthey arranged for Zagato to fit the body: there is even a suggestion that more than one was built. But no Ac-Bristol is listed in a feature on Zagato which was published in the Italian magazine Auto Capital, May/June 1981, which includes that appears to be a table of all Zagato's products. It could have been listed as a Bristol, not as an AC, however.
In a curious picture of a couple of cars at Le Mans in 1960, one of them is an MG, but following it is an Ac-Ace. The unusual features of the Ace includes a low, streamlined nose with a small oval grille and faired-in headlamps, and, more significantly, a "double bubble" hardtop, a typical Zagato trademark. It was driven by two Swiss, Wicky and Gachnang, and finished 22nd. But that was two years after the car was sent to Switzerland, and the car appears to be standard Ace apart from the mods mentioned. But could it be a coincidence that a Swiss-entered Ace should have a Zagato top?
The car resurfaced after the death of Jo Siffert. It had been part of his collection, and was sold by his estate. It go back to the UK via Oldtimer Garage Berne, and Jaye and Warrington. Kevin Jackson, its owner during the early Eighties, spotted an ad for the car in 1971. When he saw and bought it, the car was, in Kevin's words, "pretty sad, a non-runner"- He thus started a ground-up, body-off-rebuild.
The engine and the transmission were stripped and reassembled, with new parts where necessary, the petrol tank (which had suffered quite severely) required a lot of attention, braking was renovated throughout, the interior was retrimmed, wiring renewed, and new tyres fitted. When bought, the car was on Dunlop racers at the front, and Town and Cpuntries at the back! Within the last 12 months of 1983 it has had a back-to-metal respray, to give back its pristine condition.