Over the years I have successfully represented and consigned for sale some of the finest motor cars in the Southern Hemisphere, with many vehicles achieving record prices along the way. To find out more about the private treaty services offered for vendors or as a buyer to discover what is on the current list for sale please contact me.
1937 Alvis Speed 25 Drop Head Coupé
- 1937 Alvis Speed 25 Drop Head Coupé
- Chassis number 19375
- Engine number 15034
The Alvis story is an interesting one. True automotive engineers, the company name should be as internationally well known as Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Aston Martin or Jaguar. Yet that is not the case for this British brand with its distinctive inverted red triangle emblem. Alvis was established in 1919 by founder T.G.John, a naval architect, and it was a manufacturer of stationary engines and motor scooters. Geoffrey de Freville who had designed a 4-cylinder engine with aluminium pistons approached John to make his engine. The first car, designated the 10/30, quickly gained a reputation for outstanding performance and quality, which was to become the hallmark of the company and its future products.
Fast, good looking vehicles were what Alvis did best and they proved themselves time and again on the racetrack. This race testing provided various innovative engineering firsts which were adopted in and adapted for Alvis road cars. In 1925 a supercharged front wheel drive Alvis lapped the famous Brooklands circuit at 104 mph. The following year Alvis designed and raced the first straight eight, front wheel drive Grand Prix car which went around Brooklands at 121 mph. Following racing success at Le Mans in 1928, Alvis developed one of the first ever front wheel drive production cars equipped with an overhead camshaft, and if the customer so desired, an optional supercharger. Alvis developed and manufactured in house a superb 6-cylinder engine which became very famous in the 1930s. The cars were technically advanced for the period and featured the world’s first all synchromesh gearbox, independent front suspension (a first for a British manufacturer) and servo assisted brakes. In 1938 an Alvis 4.3 litre, again at Brooklands, recorded a maximum speed of 119 mph, a fastest average lap of 115 mph and an average speed of 110 mph.
Not only were Alvis cars fast and well built, they were also, in the hands of some of the finest of coach builders, stunning to look at. The two door Bertelli Sports Coupé was first exhibited at the 1935 Paris Motor Show, whilst the aerodynamic splendour of the Lancefield Concealed Hood was first seen at the 1938 London Motor Show. As The Autocar magazine wrote in August 1938, “In the scheme of things there are cars, good cars and super cars, the Alvis falling definitively into the latter category.” Forget the Ferraris or the Lamborghini Miura of the 1960s, the first super car was an Alvis. Indeed, this may very well be the first time that the oft used term ‘super car’ was ever coined. The Alvis had everything going for it, “The general appearance suggests a real thoroughbred – this car is capable of a truly remarkable performance, but the manner in which this is achieved makes the Alvis doubly likeable,” wrote another journalist at the time in The Motor.
This superb example of a 1937 Speed 25 drop head coupé has been immaculately restored and prepared by marque experts, Vintage Motor Garage of NSW, Australia, founded in 1973 by Max Houston. The car had been purchased by an American pilot based in the UK, and after the second world war taken back by him to the USA. Eventually, when service and parts became a problem for him it was left in a barn on his parents’ farm in New Jersey, where it remained until found by Max Houston in 1989. Many Alvis cars of the period were fitted with coachwork by the Company’s near neighbour in Coventry, Charlesworth Bodies. This superb Alvis now sports a new aluminium replica ‘Charlesworth’ three position drop head coupé body and has undergone a complete ground up restoration completed in 2008. A concours prize winner at the All British Car Day in NSW and at the Alvis National Rally at Toowoomba in Queensland, this splendid example of English motoring royalty has the added benefit of being fitted with hydraulic power steering, Laycock de Normanville electric overdrive, specialist high compression pistons, and the Clayton Dewandre vacuum brake booster system fitted on Alvis for the first time in 1937. Its “salt & pepper” mohair soft-top, as per original, is finished with fabric roof-lining. The original and working semaphore trafficators are supplemented by indicators working off the same operational switch for added safety. This sublime motor car is fitted with many period correct Alvis options including Lucas trumpet horns located under the lights, as opposed to the standard Alvis circular button hooters, and is equipped with the highly desirable six-wheel option as offered by Alvis when new.
Mechanically, this Alvis operates as it should, still sporting its original engine – one of the legends of British pre-war motoring. Just 391 Alvis Speed 25 chassis were built in total between 1936 and the end of 1939, making it a rare beast, with this desirable and authentic example in marvellous condition being a very special motor car indeed.
Holden Premier collection
The Holden Premier was introduced in Australia by General Motors Holden and was a luxury version of the Holden range starting in 1962 with the EJ Holden and finishing in 1979 with the HZ series.
The collection has been amassed over 28 years and features a stunning example of the 11 different premier models produced by GMH.
The Vickers Holden Premier Collection is housed at the WA Motor Museum Whiteman Park and boasts a superb example of Australian motor history.
Each car has been carefully handpicked from all over Australia & New Zealand with all vehicles being one previous owner, low mileage & log books
This very rare collection is For Sale and would suit the astute investor or self managed super fund.
The owner is looking at offers over AUS $1 Million
More information: premiercollection4sale.com.au
