Alvis Grand Prix – The Second Coming

This isn’t the first time Alvis has pulled the old back from the dead trick. If you’ve been keeping up with our magazine content then you would have seen our feature on the company and its somewhat extended period of hibernation which began back in the 1960s. As we explained in that article the brand didn’t die as such, it just went on a really long holiday, the lucky devil. It essentially took a sabbatical and came back in 2013 with a renewed sense of purpose and began building cars again, which you can read all about here. Not only that, but we also made a video for your consideration, because we’re nice like that. But as we have indeed covered this in the past you might be asking yourself why we’re banging on about it all again now. Well, a similar thing has happened, you see. Not on a company-wide scale but rather to an individual car. Quite a special car too: the innovative Alvis Grand Prix race car to be precise, resurrected decades after being left to tide and time.

It has been almost a century since the Alvis Grand Prix car was retired from racing. A whole 96 years after its competition debut (and subsequently only competitive outing), the racer – one of only two examples ever built and the first of its kind to use a front-wheel drive setup – has undergone an extensive restoration and the car was publicly unveiled at Automobile Council earlier this month in Chiba City, Japan as a rolling chassis, with a rebuilt engine and drivetrain to follow. Car number 2 of 2, this particular sole surviving Alvis was intended to race in the 1927 British Grand Prix but unfortunately never made the start and despite showing huge potential, as well as qualifying second in the Brooklands Junior Car Club 200 Mile Race that same year with George Duller behind the wheel, it was retired after 52 laps due to an engine failure.

That ill-fated engine was an in-line, eight-cylinder, 1.5-litre supercharged unit that was positioned directly behind the longitudinally mounted gearbox. Further adding to the car’s unconventional setup was an independently arranged system of four elliptical leaf springs in place of a regular front axle. Innovative as it may have been, unfortunately it wasn’t particularly reliable, hence its retirement from competition so early in its life due to what turned out to be a broken con-rod, diagnosed after the engine was removed and stripped down back at Alvis HQ. Without its beating, eight-cylinder heart the project was sadly abandoned and left for dead in a Coventry scrapyard, but much like the company that built it and that has since resurrected it, the Alvis GP car is enjoying a much deserved renaissance.

The culprit – currently on display in Alvis’ showroom in Kenilworth

Largely original and missing just a few parts, the restoration process has been a painstaking endeavour. Reclaimed by Alvis in 2006 after a long and storied journey whereby the car changed hands numerous times, it is now a complete rolling chassis with a fully rebuilt engine and drivetrain to follow. Caretakers over the years included scrapyard brothers who were instructed by Alvis to break it but not sell it, a motorcycle dealer who had plans to redevelop the car with a rear engine layout and an Alvis enthusiast who travelled the world, GP car in tow and who kick-started the rebuild process before Alvis company owner Alan Stote and Alvis whisperer Tony Cox took ownership with the sole intention of finishing what the previous custodian had started.

It wasn’t all guess work, however. Alan and Tony did have some help in the form of several period photographs of the car in race trim, as well as surviving drawings of its engine, with Alan exclaiming that “the lack of historical information presented a key challenge during the restoration process, but at the same time has made the project more intriguing, and one that has been a journey of discovery”. The bulk of the car, including the chassis frame and bodywork remained in good condition too and so the duo were able to study and reverse-engineer all of these elements in order to remanufacture the new parts and componentry required for the rebuild, including a new, period-correct engine block and gearbox, all in Alvis’ own factory to ensure they remained true to the original car.

The restoration of the Alvis Grand Prix car follows on from the company’s current continuation line-up and will act as a flagship for the marque, at the same time commemorating an important chapter in Alvis’ rich history. The car will hopefully return to Brooklands in 2027 for the 100th anniversary of its inaugural race and we wish Alvis the very best of luck with the project. Come on now, who wouldn’t want to see this beast getting a thrashing on track?!