London - Almost exactly 50 years after Alvis stopped making cars in 1967, the triangular red badge has been revived for a limited run of made-to-order ‘continuation’ cars.
Jaguar, among others, has already found out the hard way that if you create an exact replica of a 1930s sports-car, it won’t be street-legal, even though the originals are. So the new Alvis models have been updated with fuel injection, electronic ignition, hydraulic rather than cable-operated brakes, collapsible steering columns and redesigned tail-light clusters that look period but will in fact pass roadworthy inspection.
Throughout its history from 1919 to 1967, Alvis supplied only rolling chassis; all its cars were completed by the customers’ choice of coachbuilders, making every Alvis a bespoke car in the truest sense of the word.
Based on three original cars, a huge stash of original parts acquired from BAE Systems, which bought Alvis Vickers in 2004, and the input of one of the last surviving employees of the original Alvis works, the new Red Triangle company will offer wealthy enthusiasts exact replicas of the Bertelli-bodied 1935 4.3-litre Sports Coupé, an elegant 1937 4.3-litre drophead coupé with Lancefield coachwork, and a 1966 TF21 with body by Graber of Switzerland.