1934 Alvis Speed 20 SC Oxborrow and Fuller Continental Toure For Sale by Auction

Kelham Hall | Newark, Nottinghamshire
Viewing: Tues 17th March 2026 from 12pm
Auction: Weds 18th March 2026
Location: Kelham Hall Main Street, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG23 5QX

1934 Alvis Speed 20 SC Oxborrow and Fuller Continental Tourer
Extremely rare coachwork by Oxborrow and Fuller

Estimate
£50, 000 - £60, 000

Registration No: BYL 926
Chassis No: 459765
MOT: August 2026

Reputedly one of just three Oxborrow and Fuller bodied Alvis’, and believed to be the only survivor!
Subject to a comprehensive body-off restoration in the 1990s by The Motor House in Newbury
Full engine overhaul in the early-2010s by Jim Stokes Workshops
Supplied with an extensive history file
"The driver has the benefit of rock steady steering, completely accurate, and without a trace of road shocks, while corners and curves merely give him an opportunity to show up the roadholding of the car at its best. Acceleration is greatly assisted by the new all-synchromesh gearbox, with very quick changes to be made absolutely silently right up through the gears."—Motor Sport, February, 1934

Introduced at the 1934 London Motor Exhibition, the Speed 20 SC was among a new breed of Alvis cars that combined high performance with luxury and refinement. Based around a sturdy cruciform-braced ladder-frame chassis equipped with sizable fourteen-inch drum brakes and "jelly mould" wire wheels, it boasted such technological novelties as independent transverse-leaf front suspension and synchromesh on all four forward gears. Powered by a smooth but free-revving 2, 762cc OHV straight-six engine featuring dual magneto and coil ignition, triple SU carburettors and an aluminium crankcase, the model was reputedly capable of 89mph. A corollary of its low-slung stance and long bonnet line, the Speed 20 SC proved an ideal canvas for the coachbuilder's art. Although the majority were bodied to factory-approved designs by Charlesworth and Cross & Ellis, a select few received rather more bespoke treatment.

The more bespoke end of coachbuilding included those Alvises bodied by the Kingsbury, Middlesex, firm of Vanden Plas, a name most closely associated with the conquering Bentley Le Mans team cars of the 1920s. Having been involved with aircraft production during the 1914-18 war, Vanden Plas struggled to gain a foothold in post-war coachbuilding until it was bought in 1923 by Edwin Fox, who cemented the association with Bentley. It then relied almost exclusively on such custom until Bentley went bankrupt in 1931, at which point Vanden Plas had to find new customers. Charles Follett became an Alvis dealer just prior to the Speed 20’s introduction, and his decision to commission Vanden Plas to construct a variety of bodies for the new model was instrumental in prolonging the coachbuilder’s survival.

More information to follow.

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