Alvis Grand Prix race car resurrected

Once left for dead in a Coventry scrapyard, the one and only surviving Alvis Grand Prix racing car is being brought back to life by its manufacturer, The Alvis Car Company. After making its racing debut at the 1927 Junior Car Club 200 Mile Race at Brooklands, it will make its maiden public appearance in Chiba City, Japan at Automobile Council 2023.

Restoring the classic competition automobile to its former grandeur after it had lain dormant for decades was a long and difficult process. Many months of hard research went into revitalising the automobile despite the fact that it was essentially original when purchased in 2006, with only a few parts such as the hood, rear suspension, and radiator fully missing.

In 1927, the Alvis generated a stir with its novel mechanical design. The car's lack of a standard front axle is remarkable. Instead, four elliptical leaf springs are independently arranged for use in the steering mechanism. A powerful in-line eight-cylinder, 1.5-liter supercharged engine located directly below the longitudinally mounted gearbox allowed this car to stand out from the crowd in 1927 thanks to its unusually long length.

1927 GP with designer Captain G.T. Smith-Clarke

These variations would sadly render the Alvis unreliable. The Alvis #2 chassis was one of two cars entered in that year's British Grand Prix. Due to mechanical problems, neither vehicle was able to start the race. The JCC 200 Mile Race at Brooklands was where #2 made its debut two weeks later. This Alvis, piloted by George Duller, qualified in second place, behind Maurice Harvey's identical twin. Duller's lap times were well over 120 miles per hour. In the start, Duller's Alvis claimed the lead. After dropping to third for a spark plug change, however, the Alvis had to pull out of the race due to an engine problem on lap 52.

The automobile was taken back to the Alvis factory in Kenilworth, where the engine was taken out and disassembled to find the broken con-rod that had caused the failure. The car's original engine would never be installed again. Alvis held on to it for just over a decade as it sat dormant and unused.

It was one of three front-wheel-drive specimens that Alvis shipped to Roach Brothers, a vehicle breaker in Coventry, in the late 1930s, when the company was trying to make more room in the plant. Roach Brothers were under orders to dismantle it rather than resell it. Bill Pitcher, a motorbike dealer in Rugby, bought the car and covertly gave it a second chance, thus circumventing the initial arrangement.

Pitcher began looking for a new engine and gearbox and ultimately landed on a 1929 Alvis TT or Le Mans engine and a 1929 Alvis transmission system. Pitcher's plan to redesign the Alvis with a rear-engine configuration never got off the ground, and the car was sold off when his company went bankrupt in the mid-1950s. Nic Davies, the new owner and a lifetime fan of front-wheel-drive Alvis vehicles, kept it for almost 50 years. Davies took the vehicle all around the world, including to Australia, Papua New Guinea, Florida, and other locations. The automobile remained in Pitcher's care until 1990, when Davies began a lengthy restoration job. Although this project is far from being finished, on April 19, 2003, the car ran under its own power for the first time in over 75 years. In 2006, Alan Stote, the current owner of The Alvis Car Company, and Tony Cox, a front-wheel-drive Alvis expert, purchased the vehicle and began the definitive restoration to historical specification.

The restoration of the car was made possible thanks to several vintage images showing the car in race form, surviving drawings of its engine, and the car's essential pieces that are still in good shape (chassis frame, bodywork, etc.). Alvis was able to remanufacture new components in its factory or with UK-based vendors after painstakingly examining these parts and reverse-engineering them using CAD. To assure the maximum fidelity to the original car, Pitcher had to replace the comparable but wrong pieces he had sourced decades ago with a new, period-correct engine block and gearbox casting.

Its six 'Continuation Series' road vehicles and an order book for the handmade models that stretches into 2025 aren't the only successes of the thriving British manufacturer; the restoration of the Alvis Grand Prix is the latest.

1927 GP 200 Miles Race start Brooklands

The Alvis Car Company, together with its sister company Red Triangle, provides repair and restoration services, as well as sales of both vintage and modern Alvis automobiles. At its Kenilworth facility, where it has operated since the original manufacture closed in 1967, it also maintains a large warehouse stocked with genuine Alvis components.

“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,” says Alan Stote, the owner of The Alvis Car Company.

During Automobile Council 2023 (14th - 16th April) in Chiba City, Japan, the public will get their first look at the finished vehicle's rolling chassis. Later this year, developers will put in more time to finish the engine so it may be showcased at a number of important events. Ideally, Alvis would like to bring the car back to Brooklands in 2027, which will be the 100th anniversary of its initial introduction.