Alvis 12/75 1923
In their heyday, Alvis were keen exponents of racing, entering enthusiastically into competition in order to improve the breed and position themselves firmly as a sporting marque.
As early as 1923, a specially designed 1 ½-litre 12/50 based racer won the JCC 200 mile race at Brooklands, narrowly beating the highly specialised AC with its one-off 16-valve OHC engine. Despite a major lightening programme for 1924, Alvis had to play second fiddle to AC, something which much annoyed Capt. G T Smith-Clarke, Alvis’ chief engineer and WM Dunn, the firm’s head of design. Something had to be done.
Supercharging was felt to be the way forward, developments in this area following with a modicum of success. Experiments were even undertaken using an electrically driven blower! It was soon realised that this was not going to be the golden ticket, a much more radical solution being discussed and agreed.
Power was one thing, but stability, cornering and a low centre of gravity were at the top of the list too and it all pointed to a new concept – Front Wheel Drive. The development team got to work.
What emerged was like nothing else yet seen, a car bristling with new features. The gearbox was at the front driving the front wheels, the front brakes were inboard to reduce un-sprung weight, the Duraluminium chassis was virtually non-existent at the rear – the whole car weighing in at under 9 1/2cwt. Further more the seat was a mere 12” off the ground, the top of the bonnet being just 3’ from terra firma. It was a sensation and on its second appearance beat the ACs.
Buoyed with enthusiasm and flushed with success, the firm decided to embark upon a full Grand Prix programme, designing a car to compete in the hotly contested 1 ½-litre class. A straight-8 twin cam supercharged engine was produced, which through a lack of pound notes and development time failed to reach its undoubted potential. The financial reins were pulled and the serious business of car production took precedence - a shame, as despite a slight power disadvantage, the cornering ability was significantly better than the opposition.
In order to capitalise on all of these developments and the awareness of their racing exploits, Alvis decided to offer a production ‘Super-Sports’ Front Wheel Drive for the ‘experienced driver’.
The press hailed the new car, stating that the all-independent suspension allowed the car to corner "20% faster than normal". The 1,482cc over-head cam engine was the same basic unit as fitted to the 1925/6 racing cars and was available supercharged or un-supercharged. In blown form it was good for 75bhp at 6 lbs boost.
The drive shafts incorporated pot joints, the then embryonic constant velocity joints being deemed too expensive at the time, whilst other quirks included a special crank starting system running through the gearbox, a necessity due to the engine effectively being installed backwards and therefore running anti-clockwise to the chassis. The bodywork was long, low and rakish with the more powerful supercharged car selling at £625.
Racing successes continued, a team coming 1st and 2nd in class at Le Mans in 1928, finishing a highly creditable 6th and 9th overall. A 5-car entry at the Ulster TT with a series of narrow bodied cars with lighter more vestigial wings performed well too, Leon Cushman coming in a close second to Kaye Don’s winning Lea-Francis. The works also took a series of International Class F records at Brooklands.
In the end though, Alvis realised that the cost of producing such a technical tour de force, coupled with the onset of the great depression was too much to bear financially and so, with just 143 cars having left the factory, production was wound down in favour of the ‘revival 12/50’, the evergreen, conventional light sports model which they rather hurriedly put back into production to fill a requirement for cheaper models.
This matching numbers 1928 example was one of 39 ‘FD’ types to leave the factory and was sold new to Australia via car distributors, Tozer Kemsley and Milbourn, fitted with the ultra-sporty Cross and Ellis TT body..
As a contemporary Alvis advertisement for the model stated: 'Altogether, this two-seater model is one that will delight the heart of the keen motorist – whether he requires a car for fast touring over long distances or purely for sport.' We can’t fault that!
Credit: Brightwells