• Offered without reserve • One of only circa 100 examples produced • Two owners from new • Rooster Turbos turbocharger conversion (200bhp) • 47,935 miles recorded Please note that the gearbox issue has not been resolved.

The chain from the engine to the gearbox appears to be stretched, and under extreme loads on maximum turbo sometimes cog slipping is noted.

Although first mooted in 1974, AC's mid-engined (ME) coupé did not appear until 1979.

Seeking to produce a smaller, more affordable model, AC boss Derek Hurlock had bought the rights to the Diablo, a mid-engined GT coupé designed by Robin Stables and Peter Bohanna, which had been displayed at the 1973 Olympia Racing Car Show.

By '79, the prototype's Austin Maxi engine/transmission had given way to a 3.0-litre Ford V6, which was mounted transversely amidships and drove via a chain-driven five-speed synchromesh gearbox of AC's own design.

Some 70-or-so examples of the pretty two-seater 3000ME were constructed at AC's Thames Dit...