1937 AC 16/80 “Sloping Tail” Competition Sports
Freddie March, Duke of Richmond and Gordon, contributed bodywork designs to Thames Ditton’s AC Cars before going on to establish the Goodwood Motor Circuit.
His sloping-tail treatment for the 16/80 Competition Sports represented a more refined second variant after 28 earlier examples were built with traditional slab-tank styling and exposed spare wheels.
Just 14 or 15 sloping-tail versions are believed to have left AC’s workshops between 1935 and 1939, with noted owners including actor Errol Flynn and architect Frank Lloyd Wright.
These two-seater bodies were mounted on a shortened 8-foot 10-inch wheelbase chassis, compared to the standard 9-foot 7-inch wheelbase used for touring models. John Weller’s 122-cubic-inch (2.0-liter) overhead-camshaft inline six received revised cylinder heads with enlarged valves and triple SU carburetors, producing 80 horsepower.
A four-speed manual gearbox with synchromesh replaced AC’s earlier three-speed arrangement. Standard specification included automatic chassis lubrication, built-in jacks, and Telecontrol shock absorbers.
British trials competitors favored these sporting ACs for demanding events such as the Land’s End Trial and hillclimbs at Shelsley Walsh, where the combination of relatively light weight and strong torque proved effective.
Combined production of naturally aspirated 16/80 and supercharged 16/90 variants totaled approximately 44 examples over four years, each hand-assembled with individual detail variations.
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