Alvis returns to the road
We visit reborn British car manufacturer
ALVIS is a British brand with a rich history of technical innovation, high-quality manufacturing and engineering prowess – but younger readers would be forgiven for not knowing the name. That’s because the company, founded in Coventry in 1919 and a prolific producer of fine automobiles for decades, slipped into relative obscurity after producing its final car in 1967.
The marque never fully disappeared, however. Its entire stock of spares, sales records and original engineering drawings was moved to new premises in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, where – under the Red Triangle name – the company continued to offer comprehensive support for existing cars, regardless of age and long after production had ceased. It’s a service that continues to this day thanks to an unparalleled combination of parts, expertise and original materials. And its owner believed that this was a strong foundation on which to base a revival.
“We had all the ingredients – we could bring together the brand rights, all the technical information, technical ability and a range of bodywork that we could use,” owner Alan Stote tells us. The stage was set for Alvis to start production again.
In 2013, the Alvis Car Company began work on the first of its Continuation Series cars. While targeted squarely at collectors looking for modernised classics, these are far from being recreations or lookalike imitations of the originals. Each car is built on an all-new chassis, while each engine is built up from an unmolested ‘new-oldstock’ block that’s been in storage, as-new, for decades. Almost every other part is made from the original drawings, and while concessions to usability, reliability and emissions regulations have been made, each stands as a genuine Alvis, complete with chassis numbers that follow on directly from their period counterparts.
Every car takes up to 5,000 hours to complete, with much of that time taken up by the bodywork. All of the Continuation Series cars sport their own hand-made body, which in period would have been produced by any number of specialised coachbuilding firms.
There are six models in the Series: the pre-war Bertelli Sports Coupé, Lancefield Concealed Hood and Vanden Plas Tourer, along with the post-war Park Ward Drop Head Coupé and the stylish Graber Super Coupé and Cabriolet.
Auto Express was invited to see Alvis’s latest creation just as a phase of rigorous testing and inspection was getting under way. Built for a client in Japan, the particular Vanden Plas Tourer we would inspect sported a number of made-to-measure options, including airconditioning – essential in sweltering Japanese summers – and a period-style stereo system.
The Tourer uses one of two chassis and engine combinations that are offered by Alvis for its
Continuation Series cars. The 4,387cc six-cylinder engine is the larger of two units available, and this is offered exclusively with the pre-war bodystyles.
Alvis’ on-site facilities are comprehensive, located across a warren of workshops and side rooms. Each stage of the Continuation Series cars’ production is handled by a separate team: new parts are made and tested in-house, engines are built, placed on a dynamometer to check their power, and tuned using specialist equipment. Every stage of construction – from the rolling chassis to the hand-formed bodywork and upholstery – is completed under one roof.
One of the more impressive areas of the building is the parts store – a huge collection of original components stacked in their period wooden racking over two floors. From engine blocks to radiator fans, grilles to pistons, much of the stock has been in storage since production ceased in the sixties – and in many cases, for much longer than that.
This library of original parts is invaluable both to the production of Alvis’ Continuation cars and the restoration and upkeep of existing ones. As Alan explains, “This sort of stuff doesn’t go off; many of the parts we use are from the 1960s.”
It’s a relatively small operation – nowhere near the scale of Jaguar Land Rover Classic, for example – but modern-day Alvis is an impressive company. Its small team is dedicated to the historic brand, the preservation of its original cars and the production of its new Continuation Series. If you’ve got plenty of spare change (prices start at around £250,000) and would rather drive your classic than park it in a collection, a lightly modernised, factory-fresh Alvis could be just the ticket.
“The parts library is invaluable to produce the Continuation cars and keep existing ones going”