There are even a couple of recent (2004 and 2010) additions to the car’s pedigree – at the Goodwood Revival, no less – in case you need further reassurance of the car’s eligibility for the world’s top historic racing events.

But the racing isn’t the only thing that makes ‘LOY 500’ historically fascinating. Back in the 1950s, London-based car dealer and talented club racer Cliff Davis commissioned John Tojeiro to build him a chassis in which he could fit a 2-litre Bristol engine. Skinned in aluminium, very much in the style of a Ferrari Barchetta of the time, ‘LOY 500’ was the result – a Tojeiro-Bristol that (among many other claims to fame) won the support race at that year’s Dutch Grand Prix.

But the story doesn’t stop here. Tojeiro took the car to AC Cars Ltd in Thames Ditton, and the directors were mightily impressed. So much so that LOY 500 evolved into the AC Ace, which debuted at the London Motor Show. (John Tojeiro, incidentally, was paid £5 per car in royalties.)

Photos: H&H Private Sales