Pre-war development of the 6-cylinder Alvis culminated in the announcement in August 1936 of the 4.3-Litre, designed by the company’s distinguished Chief Engineer, Captain George Smith-Clarke. The 4.3-Litre was based on the 3½-liter Speed 25 introduced the previous year, powered by an enlarged version of Alvis’ new seven-bearing, overhead-valve engine producing 137 horsepower on triple carburetors. The cruciform-braced chassis featured the kind of advanced thinking long associated with the marque. Independent front suspension and a 4-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.
Claimed to be the fastest un-supercharged saloon on the U.K. market, the Alvis 4.3-Litre was certainly one of the few pre-war saloons capable of a genuine 100 mph. Sturdily built and endowed with a generous wheelbase, the Alvis 6 attracted some of the finest examples of the pre-war coachbuilders’ art, though the 4.3-Litre’s chassis-only price of £750 meant that ownership was necessarily confined to wealthy connoisseurs. A complete 4.3-Litre cost around £1,100, outstanding value for money given its specification and performance, and comfortably undercutting rivals such as the V12 Lagonda and 4¼ Litre Bentley. Despite this price advantage, only 198 cars had been delivered when the outbreak of World War II stopped production. Some 95 survivors are known to the Alvis Owner Club.
This Alvis 4.3-Litre carries drophead coupe coachwork by Whittingham & Mitchel, a company based in New Kings Road, West London, and after World War II in Byfleet, Surrey. W&M were best known as contract body builders for major manufacturers, but did accept commissions on more-upmarket chassis such as Alvis. Virtually identical in style to the short-chassis Vanden Plas Tourer, the bodywork is unique and probably designed to the first owner’s specification. It is unusual in having a fully concealed hood and, being an occasional 4-seater, providing ample luggage space for long-distance touring when the rear seats are folded away.
The copy Car Record on file shows that 14844 was erected on the short-wheelbase (10 feet, 4 inches) chassis and originally fitted with a special high-compression engine (15329) and the high axle ratio. Dispatched as chassis-only to Messrs. Hugh Anderson Ltd of London on September 3, 1938, 14844 was re-dispatched as a finished car on November 12 that same year. The original registration was DVB 1, and the Alvis was first owned by wholesale news agent Leslie Edward Martin of Knowle House, Addington Park, Surrey. Mr Martin used the Alvis for barely a year before laying it up for the duration of the war. He parted with the car in 1945.
Purchased at auction by the current vendor in May 2000, the car was restored between 2002 and 2004 by renowned marque specialists Red Triangle of Kenilworth, Warwickshire, who have continued to maintain it since then. It represents a wonderful opportunity to acquire one of the fastest production cars of its era and the very embodiment of the term “Post-Vintage Thoroughbred.”
SCM Analysis
Detailing
Vehicle: | 1938 Alvis 4.3-Litre Short-Chassis Drophead Coupe |
Years Produced: | 1937–40 |
Number Produced: | 198 |
Tune Up Cost: | $650 |
Chassis Number Location: | Stamped into cast-aluminium bulkhead/scuttle just above steering column |
Engine Number Location: | Stamped into right-hand engine bearer |
Club Info: | Alvis Owner Club |
Website: | http://www.alvisoc.org |
Alternatives: | 1930–35 Invicta S-type, 1933–40 Bentley 4¼, 1937–40 Lagonda LG6 |
This car, Lot 40, sold for $314,670 (£241,500) at Bonhams’ Goodwood Members’ Meeting sale on April 10, 2022.
Alvis is not well known in the U.S., but at home in the U.K., the marque has a strong following, and the hardware is well supported, too. Alvis were robustly made and last a long time. All of the factory drawings still exist, along with many original spare parts, lovingly tended by Red Triangle, a specialist named for the company’s signature badge. It has held the passenger-car archives, inventory and stock since they were moved to its safekeeping in 1968, Alvis itself having been under the ownership of Rover since 1965.
In recent years this has gone further, to the point where the new Alvis Car Company, under the custodianship of arch-enthusiast Alan Stote, can build you a new “continuation” 4.3. These come with upgrades such as disc brakes, LED lighting and, most important, fuel injection so they can run a catalytic convertor. The first customer car was delivered to Japan in 2020.
Unusual, if not unique
The 4.3 was the ultimate expression of the Speed 20 and 25 series, and here the coachwork by Whittingham & Mitchel is unusual, probably unique. The most elegant and desirable 4.3s tend to be bodied by Vanden Plas, but this example has full doors and hides its folding top better. W&M originally bodied motor coaches, but in the ’30s clothed some cars including Allards, MGs and Wolseleys. Archive photos suggest it bodied at least one other 4.3, and a couple of 12/70 tourers.
This example, therefore, would have been one of the last cars it built in Fulham. From the car record: “Special Body Throughout, Black, Wings & Wheels Black. Special Brown Leather. Adjustable arm rests fitted to both doors. Philips radio set fitted. Stopwatch fitted. Special high-compression engine fitted.”
Whatever the true numbers, it follows that with such a small production window, a W&M body is a rare thing. This one has survived incredibly well. It was damaged in a garage collapse in 1996 while in the U.S. and must have been repaired there, because its 2000 sale-catalog photo shows it straight and shiny. Its subsequent now-20-year-old restoration still presents well, with the interior leather mellowing nicely, and just a few oil stains down the engine block to show that it’s been enjoyed.
The vendor diligently researched its history, listing all known owners. Photos posted on alvisarchive.com show that in 2012 it had all-black wheel discs with no bright detailing, but otherwise it is the same today. Red Triangle invoices on file for the restoration and various works include fitting an overdrive (2009); a crankshaft and con-rod set (2010); new Alfin brake drums (2012); engine overhaul (2015); and new Blockley tires (2018). The owner has added twin electric cooling fans, which he says are removable in a minute. The fitted stopwatch, adjustable armrests and radio were missing when he bought the car, but have been replaced with period-correct items, and there’s an electronic speedo tucked discreetly under the dash.
Great expectations
There is a disparity between the prices of the best short-chassis 4.3s and the long-wheelbase cars (including the 3.5-liter Speed 25s they are descended from). Short-chassis cars with the most elegant bodies are a long way ahead of the others.
A similar example to our subject car (by Vanden Plas) was sold by Bonhams for $681k in 2017 (SCM# 6856382), though the pound was then a bit stronger against the dollar. Just a few months later, though, another went unsold at $544k against a $530k–$600k estimate (SCM# 6868243). In Paris in February 2019, the 1938 4.3 short-chassis Works demonstrator (s/n 14812) failed to sell against a $482k–$540k estimate, though it was later declared sold at, we assume, something around $490k. Perhaps that single sale in 2017 skewed expectations rather high, leading to the rash of no-sales.
In 2000, the vendor paid Coys $80,322 for our subject car. Rating it condition 1- at the time, we observed: “With original engine, gearbox, and stylish coachwork intact, and two discerning previous owners in U.K. on file. Very well-presented paint, trim and bright bits.” Our conclusion: “An Alvis rolling chassis was much cheaper than the Lagonda or Bentley competition in period, and this good looker offered Bugatti elegance for much less money today.”
The same still holds true. This time the estimate range was more realistic, $235k–$313k, perhaps due to its one-off status — a Vanden Plas body might be seen as an easier bet come resale time. The car hammered right in the middle of that range. The sale price was more than most Derby Bentleys and the last Lagonda LG6 drophead we saw at auction, but less than an Invicta. At about half the price of that 4.3 that set the top of the market in 2017, and arguably as elegant, I’d say this was good money for the seller and fair for the buyer. ♦
(Introductory description courtesy of Bonhams.)