This is the second of the two Alvis specials created for the 1926 200 Mile race and British Grand Prix at Brooklands with a 1.5-litre eight-cylinder engine. The Earl of Cottenham is at the wheel.
Alvis’ racing manager George Tattershall stands behind the 1925 four-cylinder FWD car entered in the 1925 200 Mile race. It was driven by the Earl of Cottenham, who is sitting in the car.
overhead camshaft version of the 1.5-litre eight-cylinder engine with a supercharger. It was a continuation of the 1927 Grand Prix engine and powered four cars for the 1929 Double Twelve race. Sadly, poor reliability struck again and all four cars failed to finish, though one lasted to within an hour of the finish.
A change of tack came in 1930 when
Alvis was a pioneer of front-wheel drive with its cars. This FWD is in the pits during the 1931 Double Twelve race at
Brooklands. It was privately entered by E Farley and P Fotheringham- Parker.
Alvis entered a team of conventional Silver Eagles for that year’s Double Twelve. The engines were reduced in capacity slightly to meet the 2.0-litre class rules and three cars started. That of Leon Cushman retired after just 30 mins, but the Honourable Victor and Mrs Bruce ran their car at an average of 74mph despite running on only five out of six cylinders due to a broken valve and holed piston. They finished 13th, while the car of Cyril Paul and Harold Purdy came home in 16th place. However, the increased pace from teams such as Alfa Romeo convinced TG John that Alvis could no longer compete on an even footing due to the handicapping system. So, in 1930, Alvis withdrew from racing and stuck to that decision. The company had scored some success and set 37 International Class F (1500cc) records at Brooklands. Harvey and Purdy also set an International 1000 Mile record in 1929
at Brooklands with an average speed of 95.24mph that remained unbeaten until 1934.
Private entries With its racing career ended, Alvis focused on producing a ‘car for the connoisseur’. TG John may have given up on racing at Brooklands and was focusing on road cars and armoured vehicles, but plenty of private owners still competed there in Alvis cars. A 1930 eight-cylinder car from the victorious Ulster Tourist Trophy race team won a Canada Trophy race and placed fifth in the British Empire Trophy meeting in 1933 driven by Frank Hallam. CGH Dunham’s 12/70 special made the fastest lap and came second overall in the very last race at Brooklands in August 1939. The Alvis car factory was destroyed in an air raid on Coventry in 1940. John moved production to his Rouncil Towers home in Kenilworth and retired in 1944. He died in 1946 at his home in Putney, London. Even after that, Alvis and Brooklands were still linked when the air portable Scorpion tank was tested in the Stratosphere Chamber at Brooklands. Alvis ended car production in 1967, while the military side of company was eventually taken over by BAE Systems in 2004.
JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2020 | BROOKLANDS BULLETIN 31
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