1996 Alvis Tactica – Classified of the Week

One of the great things about Car & Classic, of which there are many, is the sheer diversity of vehicles that come up for sale through our classifieds and auction listings. From scooters to super cars there is literally something for everyone. Case in point is this Alvis Tactica. Nobody really needs an armoured car, unless you happen to be the head of a particularly notorious drug cartel, or possibly the dictator of a collapsed communist state, but this isn’t about necessity. This is purely a ‘why the hell not’ kind of vehicle, and we absolutely love it.

British built by Alvis (yes, that Alvis, although by this point they had separated from British Leyland and been bought by United Scientific Holdings, becoming Alvis plc in the process) the Tactica was developed as an armoured 4X4 or 6X6 military vehicle. Produced in various guises, from ambulances and crowd control trucks, to armoured personnel carriers and IED disposal vehicles, the Tactica was available with various diesel engines as standard. Used by the British Army in Northern Ireland they remain in service with various police and military units around the world.

This particular behemoth is a 1996 Alvis Tactica, ex police patrol vehicle and comes fitted with a 6.0-litre Perkins turbo-diesel motor and five-speed automatic gearbox. This should mean that despite its bulk, the Tactica is surprisingly easy to drive, whether to the shops for a pint of milk or through your neighbour’s house. Let’s face it, you can probably take every journey as the crow flies in this bad boy. It has obviously been dumbed down somewhat from its original police spec but it still very much means business and retains its fully armoured body and bullet proof windows.

According to the seller it’ll do 70mph and return a quite frankly reasonable 15-20mpg, despite weighing in at almost 7.5 tons. You can even drive it on a regular driving license. Madness. From the photos and advert description it seems to have been kitted out as some kind of party limo/wheeled disco, with re-trimmed seats, stereo, subwoofers, televisions and DVD players all present, along with more lights than you can shake a mirror ball at. And it’s bombproof! Although the only bombs this thing will likely encounter now are those of the Jäger variety. It even comes complete with a fresh MoT which means it’s ready to roll as is.

£70,000 may seem like quite the wedge but just look at the amount of metal you’re actually getting for your money. Factor in what top 4X4s are fetching nowadays and all of a sudden it doesn’t seem that unreasonable. Keep it as it is and run it for its obvious business potential or perhaps convert it into a proper camper – we can guarantee there won’t be another at any campsite you end up in. The advert states this is the only one available for sale in the world. Whether that’s true or not we can’t say but we doubt you’re going to pass another one on the A1 on your way to your next military coup.

You could even go down the full-on 4X4 adventure vehicle route and completely kit it out with all of the off-road bells and whistles commensurate with that niche of motoring. Another option would be to re-paint it in its original police livery and take it to shows, as all of the original features are still present. Whatever you choose to do with it, however, you’ll definitely be turning heads and having an absolute blast in the process. Pun very much intended.

We can’t promise an abundance of armoured 4X4s, but here’s where to browse to find an Alvis for sale.