What a classic AC sells for at auction

The median, the usual range and the way prices have moved, from 397 recorded AC sales at public auction since 2001: which models make the most, which come up most often, and what each of them sells for.

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Part of: AC, the full marque guide

Median sold price by year, with the dashed line restated in 2025 money. Hollow final dot: the current, incomplete year.

Median sold price £92,066

Usual range £33,750 to £174,375

Recorded sales 397 since 2001

Data to 10 August 2026

397 ACs have sold at public auction since 2001, at a median of £92,066; the middle half of them made between £33,750 and £174,375. The sale rooms see about 27 a year and 76% of the cars offered find a buyer. The Ace Bristol is the one that comes up most often, with 81 sales on record at a median of £188,044. The highest result is £703,968, paid for a Cobra 289 in February 2015.

In 2025 the median classic AC sold for £135,488 across 20 sales, 142% up on 2024. In real terms, typical classic AC prices were up about 79% over the five years to 2025, once inflation is accounted for.

Show the year-by-year medians Hide the year-by-year medians

AC median sold price by year, nominal and adjusted for inflation
Year	Sold	Median	In 2025 money
2026 (so far)	10	£80,037
2025	20	£135,488	£135,488
2024	15	£56,000	£58,149
2023	29	£75,260	£80,761
2022	37	£81,489	£93,324
2021	32	£114,392	£141,452
2020	13	£59,732	£75,693
2019	18	£67,594	£86,530
2018	19	£69,046	£89,890
2017	21	£127,273	£169,534
2016	27	£135,000	£184,455
2015	13	£114,704	£158,292
2014	25	£68,496	£94,904
2013	11	£95,625	£134,381
2012	15	£128,800	£185,150
2011	15	£125,000	£184,295
2010	21	£85,243	£130,561
2009	17	£102,536	£160,978
2008	6	£108,176	£173,181
2007	12	£73,418	£121,629
2006	7	£38,812	£65,799
2003	5	£51,622	£92,879
2001	3	£45,743	£84,618

Which AC models make the most

Not every AC is priced alike. The Cobra 289 sits at the top of the marque, with a median of £347,952 across 13 sales and most of them between £278,650 and £632,121. The 2 Litre Saloon sits at the bottom at a median of £8,866, so the dearest AC model typically makes about 39 times what the cheapest does.

Cobra 28913 sales£347,952 median, usually £278,650 to £632,121
Cobra 42712 sales£347,679 median, usually £221,871 to £393,355
Ace Bristol81 sales£188,044 median, usually £136,293 to £234,837
Ace33 sales£147,100 median, usually £109,476 to £200,100
Aceca Bristol30 sales£99,439 median, usually £81,479 to £127,188
42822 sales£84,608 median, usually £69,375 to £121,368
Aceca38 sales£79,552 median, usually £63,271 to £98,670
Greyhound17 sales£46,125 median, usually £40,250 to £60,187
16/709 sales£41,545 median, usually £31,500 to £56,250
Ace Brooklands13 sales£21,508 median, usually £12,375 to £25,282
Royal13 sales£15,680 median, usually £11,250 to £17,250
2 Litre Saloon9 sales£8,866 median, usually £4,370 to £10,080

Each bar runs from the quarter mark to the three-quarter mark of that marque's sales, so it covers the middle half of them and leaves out the project and the concours car. The thickest bars have three thousand sales or more behind them, the thinnest fewer than five hundred. The scale is by ratio, every gridline about three times the one before, which is the only way a Reliant and a Jaguar fit on one axis.

The busiest AC models in the sale rooms

Auction prices by AC model
Model	Sales	Usual range	Median
Ace Bristol	81	£136,293 to £234,837	£188,044
Aceca	38	£63,271 to £98,670	£79,552
Ace	33	£109,476 to £200,100	£147,100
Aceca Bristol	30	£81,479 to £127,188	£99,439
428	22	£69,375 to £121,368	£84,608
Greyhound	17	£40,250 to £60,187	£46,125
Cobra 289	13	£278,650 to £632,121	£347,952
Royal	13	£11,250 to £17,250	£15,680
Ace Brooklands	13	£12,375 to £25,282	£21,508
Cobra 427	12	£221,871 to £393,355	£347,679
2 Litre Saloon	9	£4,370 to £10,080	£8,866
16/70	9	£31,500 to £56,250	£41,545

Plus 107 rarer variants with too few sales for a row of their own.

The latest AC sales

£1,300 16/66 Brightwells, 5 August 2026
£63,784 Aceca Collecting Cars, 16 July 2026
£4,480 Empire Brightwells, 24 June 2026
£79,850 Aceca Bonhams, 31 May 2026
£183,311 Ace Bristol Aguttes, 15 March 2026

Quick answers

Frequently asked questions

How much does a classic AC sell for?

Across 397 recorded auction sales, the median classic AC made £92,066, with most selling between £33,750 and £174,375 (as of August 2026). Those are sold prices rather than valuations: condition, history and specification move any individual car well outside that range.

Which AC is worth the most at auction?

Of the AC models with enough sales to read, the Cobra 289 carries the highest median: £347,952 across 13 recorded sales, most of them between £278,650 and £632,121, with the Cobra 427 next at £347,679 (as of August 2026). Those are sold prices for cars in every condition; a concours example of a cheaper model can still out-sell a project Cobra 289.

What is the cheapest way into a classic AC?

At auction, the 2 Litre Saloon: a median of £8,866 across 9 recorded sales, with most between £4,370 and £10,080 (as of August 2026). The bottom of that range is usually a project rather than a bargain, and a cheap car to buy is rarely a cheap car to put right.

Are classic AC prices rising?

Yes, on the evidence to 2025. Adjusted for inflation, the typical classic AC made about 79% more in 2025 than five years earlier. The 2025 median was £135,488 across 20 sales, 142% above 2024. Those are medians across every AC model and every condition the sale rooms see, so a single model can be moving the other way.

What is the most expensive classic AC ever sold at auction?

The highest recorded auction result for a classic AC is £703,968, paid for a Cobra 289 in February 2015. Results like that are exceptional cars at exceptional moments; the typical range is £33,750 to £174,375.

How often does a classic AC come up for sale?

Frequently, by classic-car standards: roughly 27 sell at auction each year, and 76% of the cars offered find a buyer. There is a steady supply, so it pays to wait for a good one rather than stretch for the first car you see.

Before you buy or sell

Buying a classic at auction
Why the hammer price is never the price, what Category S and N actually mean, why a clean-looking V5C proves less than buyers assume, and how to think about bidding on a car nobody has let you inspect.
Selling a classic privately
A private seller is not a shop, and the law knows it. Which consumer protections fall away, which three rules still bind you, why selling an unroadworthy car is an offence whoever you are, the DVLA steps that end your liability, and the payment habits that keep the money.
Agreed value insurance
The trade valuation guides insurers use do not value cars over about twenty years old, which is why a classic on a market-value policy is a claim waiting to be argued. What the Financial Ombudsman expects, what the regulator found when it looked, what agreed value actually promises, and the evidence that sets it.
What a restoration really costs
Why restoration bills reach numbers that horrify outsiders, where the money actually goes, and the practical protections that matter when handing a valuable car to a workshop for a year. Staged payments, written scope, and what happens if the business fails.
Inspecting a classic before buying
The two free government checks and what they reveal, why the log book proves less than every buyer assumes, the serial numbers DVLA tells you to look for, what a paid history check adds, and where your rights differ between a dealer and a private seller.
What a classic costs to run
The fixed costs are knowable to the pound, from the zero-rated tax to the capped MOT fee to the price of petrol this week. The variable costs are where the money goes, and no official source publishes them. What can be stated, what cannot, and how to budget for a car that was built to be fixed.

Strong evidence. 397 recorded sales and a dozen or more a year: the median and the range are well founded. Sold prices from public classic car auction results (2001 to 10 August 2026), not asking prices and not a valuation: a concours car and a project both sit inside these ranges, and condition, history and specification move any one car well outside them. Inflation-adjusted figures use the ONS CPIH index, in 2025 money. How to read these figures.