1936 Alvis Speed 25 SB Four Door Tourer

Coachwork by Cross and Ellis

3,571cc OHV 6-Cylinder Inline Engine
3 SU Carburetors
106bhp at 3,800rpm
4-Speed Manual Transmission
Independent Front Suspension - Live Rear Axle
4-Wheel Drum Brakes

*Supremely elegant sports touring car
*In Frank Spain's collection for more than 30 years
*Technically advanced late 1930s automobile
*CCCA Full Classic

THE ALVIS SPEED 25

Engineer T G John founded the Alvis company in 1919 when he acquired the rights to an automobile engine and with it the brand name of its aluminum pistons – 'Alvis'. Manufactured by T G John Ltd, the first Alvis car - the 10/30hp - appeared in 1920. Conventional yet well engineered, the four-cylinder side-valve engined 10/30 was unusual among contemporary light cars in having a four-speed gearbox. Beginning in 1922 and using the 10/30 as a starting point, newly appointed Chief Engineer Captain G T Smith-Clarke and Chief Designer W M Dunn created the car that effectively established Alvis's reputation - the immortal 12/50. The latter was powered by a new overhead-valve engine of 1,496cc, and on its competition debut at Brooklands in 1923 secured a legendary victory in the premier 200-Mile event crewed by Harvey/Tattershall. The production version went on sale later that same year priced at £550.

Pre-war development of the six-cylinder Alvis, the first of which had been introduced in 1927, culminated in the announcement of two new models for 1937: the 4.3-liter and the 3.6-liter Speed Twenty-Five, both powered by new seven-bearing, overhead-valve engines. The cruciform-braced chassis were similar and embodied the kind of advanced thinking long associated with the marque: independent front suspension and a four-speed, all-synchromesh gearbox - introduced on the preceding Speed Twenty - were retained, with the additional refinements of driver-controlled Luvax hydraulic dampers and servo-assisted brakes. On test with Autocar, the Speed Twenty-Five demonstrated remarkable top-gear flexibility combined with a maximum speed of 95mph, and was found to possess qualities of, 'quiet running and general refinement in a striking degree.'

Sturdily built and endowed with a generous wheelbase, the Alvis six attracted some of the finest examples of the pre-war coachbuilders' art, though the Speed Twenty-Five's initial chassis-only price of £775 meant that ownership was necessarily confined to wealthy connoisseurs.

THE MOTORCAR OFFERED

As his wife Jane recalls fondly today, Frank Spain loved to travel and had a fondness for the British Isles. Their vacations there were more often than not a careful balance of sightseeing and car chasing detours along the route. On this occasion, the diversion was to visit noted UK car dealer Richard Proctor at his Plus 4 Motors garage in Cheshire. The beautiful Alvis here was the bounty from one particular foray, which on a great car hunting day saw both this and the Lagonda LG45 snared for the collection. Speaking with Richard Proctor recently, he recalled the occasion with equally fond souvenirs.
Thanks to the extensive knowledge and research that has been carried out in this country by Wayne Brooks, who assisted Bonhams with all three Alvis cars in the sale, most of its life is known.

As built, the car was the 16th made and the third to receive Cross and Ellis Tourer bodywork. It was retailed through Charles Follett's London agency for Alvis and was delivered new in black, with black fenders, top and side curtains and brown upholstery, much as we see her today. Registered for the road with the London prefixed license 'DLH', it was promptly sold all the way up to Scotland to Angus March Scott of Dundee who it is understood took delivery on November 14, 1936.

By the 1960s, the car had migrated to Northern Ireland and was the property of Harry McDermott of McDermott Engineering for a while, who is on record as rating the car very highly. Later it bounced back up to Scotland to Alexander Pattullo of Forfar. It was from Pattullo, that Mr. Proctor had acquired the car.

Since that day some 33 years ago, the Alvis has remained in private and then public display. As inspected during the cataloguing and photography for the auction, it would seem that the car is a very nice original example, which may well retain some of its original upholstery in a rich brown hide that contrasts subtly with the black bodywork and is known to have been its original scheme.