Revived Alvis grand prix car scrambled to Bicester
Alvis Grand Prix car that raced at Brooklands has been restored and will be on show in Britain this autumn
Blunt instrument: Alvis GP racer has returned from Japan.
The last-surviving Alvis grand prix car will take a star turn at the next Bicester Scramble on October 8, a week shy of the 96th anniversary of its only race.
Recently restored by The Alvis Car Company and revealed for the first time in refurbished state in Japan in April, the front-wheel-drive racer will be a prominent feature at Bicester.
Though it was entered into the second British Grand Prix on October 1 1927, the long straight eight-engined car raced just once, when ‘Bentley Boy’ George Duller took the wheel for the Junior Car Club 200 Mile Race at Brooklands a fortnight later. The Alvis started on the front row and got away in the lead, smoke billowing from its spinning front wheels, but a misfire led to retirement. The car would never be reunited with that engine again, but the offending broken con-rod remains on display at Alvis’ headquarters.
George Duller before its only race
The car remained at the factory until the 1930s, when it was sold to Coventry car breaker Roach Brothers under the agreement that it would be broken up. Yet instead it found its way into the hands of enthusiast Bill Pitcher, who managed to locate a replacement engine and gearbox from a 1929 Alvis TT car and later sold the project on to Nic Davies.
It was reassembled, then Alvis Car Company custodian Alan Stote and Alvis FWD expert Tony Cox took ownership of the car in 2006. Missing parts have now been created by reverse engineering, using diagrams and archive imagery, and a period-correct engine and gearbox will be installed with the intention to run at Brooklands in 2027 on its centenary.
Number fin spent years in WB’s ‘muddle rooms’, before our man returned it to Alvis during restoration
The Alvis also has a direct link to Motor Sport’s late founding editor, Bill Boddy. In 1973, WB was presented with the car’s number fin and he kept it at home in his infamous ‘muddle rooms’, but then returned it to Alvis 34 years later when he heard of the car’s restoration.
“We are delighted that visitors to the October Scramble will be the first in the UK to see the chassis, fresh from its return from its world debut in Japan this Spring,” said Stote. “Alongside the 12/50 display, there will be much for Alvis enthusiasts to enjoy.”