The Alvis Car Company – Car & Classic Video

When we set about making videos for our growing YouTube channel, we always try and deliver something fresh, something new and something that the viewer might not know a great deal about. Educate, entertain and engage. That’s our modus operandi when it comes to these things. And one place that promised to deliver on all three points was the Alvis Car Company. We went there a couple of years ago and were utterly staggered by the goings on in Kenilworth, and we knew we had to go back and make a film.

Then of course, the small matter of a global pandemic happened and that went some way to hindering our ability to film there. Happily though, the world is opening up more and more every day, and as such, we were able to fire up the cameras and create what has to be one of our best films to date. And that’s not us being overly self-congratulatory. Our hired cameraman and editor, Mark, truly has done an astonishing job when it comes to capturing the beauty and the diversity of activities going on at the Alvis Car Company.

In this 20 minute film, you’ll get to see what this great brand is up to, and also how it’s all possible. It’s something of a misconception that Alvis stopped trading. In reality, when the company split in the late 1960s, the staff from the automotive side of the business came together and formed Red Triangle. And in doing so, they bought all the parts, all the stocks, all the drawings and they even kept and preserved some 22,000 vehicle records. The goal was to keep the lights on and be there as an ongoing facility for Alvis owners. But did it stop making cars? No. It was just, as the company’s owner, Alan Stote, says “a really long time between orders”. Brilliant.

In 2013, this plucky little company started building cars again. True continuations, their chassis numbers ran in sequence from the cars of the ’30s onward. The company started making the Graber again, and has already completed a few builds which have gone to their new homes in Japan of all places. The company also holds a vast stock of ‘heritage’ cars. Forgotten hulks rescued from barns and workshops that would, in other hands, never see the road again. However, because Alvis is the original manufacturer, it can rebuild these cars and put them back on the road. It can also tie them up with the history and paperwork that has been preserved. Incredible, frankly.

It’s a truly special film, but only because the Alvis Car Company is a truly special place. Cars are being built, restored and maintained on a daily basis. The company has embraced modern technology, with 3D printing and scanning to help make perfect bucks on which traditional panel beaters can sculpt metalwork. The stores are laden with parts that have been there, waiting patiently, for over sixty years. It’s a fascinating, captivating, truly unique operation and we’re honoured and thrilled to be able to tell the Alvis story. Enjoy.

Got a barn find, or a car collection, or a special classic that you think is worthy of a video? We’re always looking for new content, so do get in touch with Chris Pollitt, our Head of Editorial via [email protected]