AC Sociable History

The Sociable grew out of John Weller and John Portwine's Auto-Carrier, a chain-driven three-wheeled delivery tricycle. The passenger version — two seats side-by-side at the front, a single driven rear wheel — was sold from 1907 under the Auto Carriers name and became one of the most popular cyclecars on British roads before the First World War.

Light, cheap and economical, it established AC as a real manufacturer rather than a pure engineering shop, and its sales volume bankrolled the four-wheeled cars that followed. The 'AC' badge — derived from Auto Carriers — dates from this era.