A.C. Cars

Arising from Weller Brothers, manufacturers of self-propelled cars from 1899, A.C. Cars was established in 1904 and moved manufacture to Ferry Works in Thames Ditton in 1911. With space there fully occupied after a decade of growth, in 1919 AC Cars bought the site of the former High House in Thames Ditton High Street and built a factory there. AC cars shone in racing and hill-climbing during the 1920s under racing driver Selwyn Edge. When the Hurlock family bought the company in 1930 the lease on Ferry Works lapsed. The 1930s saw continued racing and enthusiast success for the cars, but the business profitability was at best marginal. After World War II AC developed some successful sports cars in the Ace, the Aceca and the famous AC Cobra; but by the 1970s, with malaise affecting the British motor industry in general, AC as a specialist car maker gradually went under and from 1986 the firm's association with Thames Ditton drew to a close. The SC name lives on in ventures with Brooklands, in Germany and the USA. Famous AC car owners include George Bernard Shaw and Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, 

Full history by John Spencer, AC Owners’ Club Archivist, with his kind permission; and photographs supplied by him below. See also Wikipedia's article on AC Cars.