Engine No. RU 102 Registration No. RW 12 (UK) From the introduction of their 10/30 model in 1920 The Alvis Car & Engineering Company of Coventry as well as their customers, competed in various forms of motorsport with hill-climbs and trials proving to be popular. With the introduction of their overhead valve 12/50 model in 1923, Alvis started to gain success at some very high-profile events in the United Kingdom, not least of which was Maurice Harvey’s class and outright victory at the JCC 200 Miles Race at Brooklands in 1923 in his works-entered Alvis 12/50. Harvey’s 12/50 was essentially a highly tuned variant of the standard road car, fitted with slimline racing coachwork and dry sump lubrication system. With the absence of any official Grand Prix race in England during the early 1920s, it was the JCC 200 Miles Race at Brooklands that was the most significant and highly attended motorsport event in the country. To this end, it also provided the best opportunity for British motorcar companies to demonstrate their abilities so for the 1924 edition of the 200 Miles race, Alvis brought a team of three cars to contest the highly anticipated event. Maurice Harvey’s quite standard 1923 winning car was piloted by A.G. Miller whilst Harvey and Frank Halford were aboard two very special works-designed and built racing cars, chassis 2929 and chassis 2931 respectively. The cars were powered by modified 12/50 engines but apart from the top half of the engine, the steering box and some instruments, that was pretty much where the similarity to any standard road-going 12/50 ended! From the uniquely designed low-slung cross-webbed lighted chassis up, the racing cars were designed specifically for the 200 Miles Race. The racers had a wheelbase of 7 feet 6 inches and a track of 4 feet 1inch. The four-speed gearbox is similar to that found in 12/50 road cars although was mounted centrally from a bell-housing at the rear of the engine, for lightness the rear axle has no differential and the only one inboard drum brake is fitted, all that was required for the fast banking of the Brooklands outer circuit. The front axle is not fitted with brakes, again for lightness. Turning to the engine; whilst it was essentially a highly tuned 12/50 unit has a different crankcase design to cater for the centrally gearbox and a dry sump lubrication system. The cars weighed approximately 500 kilograms and this combined with a power output of circa 70 bhp and a low frontal area, allowed for astonishing acceleration and top speed performance from an un-supercharged 1,500 cc motor car with chassis number 2931 lapping the Brooklands outer circuit at over 90 mph. The race was made up of three classes consisting of cars up to 1,500 cc, cars up to 1,100 cc and cars up to 750 cc. The 1,500 cc class and thus race overall was dominated by a team of supercharged Darracqs, designed by Louis Coatalen and driven by a star-studded line up of nigh-on professional racing drivers, namely Kenelm Lee Guinness, George Duller and Henry Segrave. Indeed, such was the dominance of the Darracq equipe that it transpired after the race that the drivers had drawn straws to decide who would cross the line in which of the top three positions. Fourth place and the first non-supercharged car across the line was J. A. Joyce on his AC after a superb and quite heroic drive. For Alvis it was the car driven by aero engineer and Brooklands regular Frank B. Halford, chassis 2931, as offered for sale here, that proved to be the most successful of the team, crossing the line in fifth place overall out of 39 starters. Whilst overall victory had alluded Alvis in 1924, they were nonetheless extremely pleased with the results. Alvis were the first British team over the line at a time when Grand Prix racing was a largely considered to be a European affair. It was also the first non-supercharged team to finish with all three cars completing the event intact and all cars within the top eight places. In placing 5th Halford had bettered competition from the likes of Bugatti, Aston Martin, Frazer Nash, and Riley, amongst others. Halford went on to compete in the first ever British Grand Prix held at Brooklands in August 1926, and his Aston Martin based special still lives at the Brooklands Museum. Following the successful race Alvis retained ownership of 2931 and it is thought that along with 2929 both cars were due to compete in the 200 Miles Race at Montlhéry to the southwest of Paris but for some reason did not attend. Incidentally the 200 Miles Race at Montlhéry was also dominated by the supercharged Darracqs, running under the Talbot badge for that race. It appears that 2931 was lent by Alvis to Dunlop for their tyre testing program for the new well-base wheels. Together with the 4.9-litre Sunbeam known as Firefly 1, the Alvis was kept at Dunlop’s Brooklands depot and named “Firefly 2.” Presumably the absence of a differential would have helped Dunlop to test the durability of their tyres. The Alvis appeared again in competition in the late 1920s with Maurice Harvey at the wheel for the 90mph long handicap Whit-Monday meeting at the Brooklands, June 1927. It is also photographed at the Alvis Works yard in 1927 with Harry Clark behind the wheel. Included in the extensive history files offered with 2931 (some seven albums in total) is a list of subsequent owners which includes: C. J. P. Dobson – who competed at the Southport Beach races in 1928 G. J. Fenn-Wiggin Swain Paddy Denton & Norman Barber J.H. Chivers Chivers acquired the from Denton and Barber during the mid-1950s and wrote a number of interesting articles about the car that were printed in the Alvis Owners Club Magazines during the early 1960s. The files also contain numerous shots of previous owners competing in the car. In 1976 the Alvis racer was purchased by Eric Benfield by which time the car had been fitted with four-wheel outboard brakes and road equipment including wings. It had also been painted dark green – presumably in honour of it being a British racing car. During Eric Benfield’s ownership the Alvis was fully restored and became a regular and popular feature of VSCC speed events with mostly Eric piloting the car, but occasionally on loan to other 12/50 luminaries such as the late Peter Glover. Eric fitted a new body to the car that was finished in polished aluminium. Fortunately, the original body was retained and later re-fitted to the car by Keith Taylor, following extensive and talented works by John Selway. Eric Benfield retained ownership of 2931 for the rest of his life. Following Eric’s passing in 2003 the Alvis was acquired by Keith Taylor, a highly respected engineer and restorer, well-known for his work on some of the more complex racing cars formally housed in the Donington Grand Prix Collection. During Keith Taylor’s ownership the car was treated to a stunning “re-restoration” both mechanically and cosmetically. During the course of this restoration the original body was carefully rebuilt and re-united with the original running gear. Such was the care taken over the restoration that even the original racing number disc was re-united with the racing coachwork. The original coachwork was then finished in brush painted yellow cellulose, correct to the original specification from the 200 Miles race. The upholstery was carried out correctly by Keith’s late wife Anne Taylor and all mechanical work carried out by Keith. By his own admission Keith is more interested in the engineering aspect of the car, so it was entered into competition by his son Julian who achieved some notable results, including the bettering of a Type 37 Bugatti at the Prescott Speed Hill-Climb. The current owner acquired the Alvis in 2019 but sadly due to health issues has been unable to carry on with competition driving, thus this historic and highly original is offered for sale. The racing record of the Alvis company is impressive and culminated in class wins at both the Le Mans 24 Hour Race and the International Tourist Trophy races. Chassis number 2931 as offered for sale forms a crucial part of the vintage racing history. It is surely one of the most original works racing cars of the period to have survived and is thus not only welcome at a plethora of top-flight international events but would also be a welcome addition to any important museum collection.