Hawk 1.8/2.6

In the mid 1950s, when John Tojeiro first designed a sports car for AC Cars, he took inspiration from some of Europe’s most fabulous automobiles of the time and created his masterpiece, with its state-of-the-art chassis design – The forerunner to the legendary Shelby AC Cobra, the AC Ace was born.
Now, you can own, or build, your very own ‘masterpiece’, in the form of the superb Hawk 1.8/2.6 Ace replica. A close-to-original tribute to Tojeiro’s classic sports car.

Following the great success of the Hawk 289 Cobra replica, we took a step back in evolutionary history and added the superb 1.8/2.6 models to our range. The two cars look very similar except for the nose styling; The earlier Ace design, with its ‘Barchetta’ style nose, whilst the later model has a nose virtually identical to that of the 289 Cobra. In fact, because it is so visually similar, many customers choose the later, 289 style, which is available from Hawk Cars by special order.

As a model designation, the terms 1.8 and 2.6 are not only to denote the earliest two model styles, but also the power units to use in them. The 1.8 MGB can be used to aid a tight budget, but the 2.5 Triumph 6 and the BMW 6 units are also an excellent choice.

The Hawk 1.6/2.8 uses the same twin-tube chassis as the Hawk 289 and the GRP body is constructed to the same very high standard. Like the original, the car is ideally powered by a straight six cylinder engine. Although the 2.5 litre Triumph unit is the obvious choice, mountings for the BMW 6-cylinder engine, or even the 2.6 litre Ford Zephyr (which powered the original 2.6) can be fitted to special order.

Options: For all-year motoring, a works hardtop is available. Also, we can supply all items of brightwork and trim.

Features include:

• Type: 2 seater sports.

• Coachwork: Unstressed GRP construction.

• Chassis: 3.5 inch round tube, with folded steel outriggers, fully sealed and bushed where appropriate. Bracketed for your choice of engine.

• Engine options: 4 cylinder 1800cc, or 6 cylinder 2600cc. Others to special order.

• Gearbox: 4 speed, with optional electronic overdrive, on 4 and 6 cylinder engines.

• Front suspension: Independent, coil sprung, double wishbone with lever arm, or telescopic dampers.

• Rear suspension: Live axle, leaf springs with lever arm, or optional telescopic dampers.

• Brakes: Discs to the front and drums to the rear. Servo, or non-servo assisted.

• Wheels: 15 x 5 wire wheels (Optional chrome), with 185 x 15 radial ply tyres.

• 4 cylinder performance: 0 – 60 mph in under 10 seconds, with top speed around 100 mph.

• Overall Dimensions: Length = 3860mm (152″). Width = 1500mm (59″). Height to screen = 1220mm (48″).

Upgrades:

Rear Axle and suspension: A Jaguar IRS unit can simply be fitted in place of the MGB live axle if required. All chassis are bracketed to accommodate either system, so an upgrade to a modified Jaguar can be done at any stage.

Front suspension: Hawk Cars supply their own fully independent front suspension that is fully adjustable. This accepts MGB hubs, stub axles, brakes and pivot rods etc. This superbly designed system is all you will ever need, whatever engine you choose.

Brakes: In order to maintain the correct braking balance between front and rear systems, we recommend using our 4 pot, vented conversion when fitting the Jaguar IRS unit, or when using more powerful engines.

Engines: For the Hawk 1.8/2.6 models, the standard MGB engine retains the budget advantage of using parts from one donor source. However, if a little more authenticity is desired, the logical upgrades are the Triumph 2.5 straight 6, or the BMW 6, not only for the ‘under bonnet’ visual accuracy, but the smooth 6 sound!