Allard Car History
Allard Motor Company Limited was an English car manufacturer founded by Sydney Allard which operated from small premises in south London. Car manufacture almost ceased within a decade. It produced approximately 1900 cars before his death in 1966.Before the war, Allard supplied some replicas of a Bugatti-tailed special of his own design from Adlards Motors in Putney.
Allards generally featured a large American V8 engine in a small, light British sports car body, giving a high power-to-weight ratio and foreshadowing the Sunbeam Tiger and AC Cobra of the early 1960s. Cobra designer Carroll Shelby and father of the Corvette Zora Arkus Duntov both drove Allards in the early 1950s.
Pre-war Allard Specials
The first Allard cars were built specifically to compete in Trials events - timed rally-like events on terrain almost impassable by wheeled vehicles. The first Allard was powered by a Ford flathead V8 in a body mostly sourced from a Bugatti racer. It used the American engine's high torque to great effect in slow-speed competition.
Further Allards were soon built to order with a variety of large, Ford-sourced engines, including Lincoln-Zephyr V12 powerplants. By the outbreak of war in 1939 twelve Allard Specials had been built. Sydney Allard's planned volume production was pre-empted by work on Ford-based trucks during the conflict. By its end, Allard had built up a substantial inventory of Ford parts.
1938 Allard Ford V8 sports
Post-war Models
Using its inventory of easy-to-service Ford mechanicals built up during World War II and bodywork of Allard's own design, three post-war models were introduced: the J, a competition sports car; the K, a slightly larger car intended for road use, and the four seater L. Sales were fairly brisk for a low-volume car, and demand was high for cars in general, which led to the introduction of several larger models, the M and P.
J2
Available both in street trim and stripped down for racing, the J2 proved successful in competition on both sides of the Atlantic, including a third place overall at Le Mans in 1950 (driven by Sydney Allard himself, who also placed first in the Monte Carlo Rally in 1952 driving an Allard P1 saloon car). Of 313 documented starts in major races in the 9 years between 1949 and 1957, J2's compiled a list of 40 first place finishes; 32 seconds; 30 thirds; 25 fourths; and 10 fifth place finishes. Both Zora Duntov (the father of the Corvette) and Carroll Shelby (the father of the Cobra) raced J2's in the early 50's. 90 J2's were produced between 1950 and 1952.
The J2X was not as successful in international racing as the J2, as it became less competitive against more advanced Jaguar C and D types, Ferraris, and Maserati works cars it headlined less often in major international races. Of 199
1957 Allard J2R Roadster.
Clipper
The 1953 Allard Clipper was an attempt to cash in on the era's burgeoning microcar market. A tiny car glass fibre bodied car powered by a rear mounted 346 cc Villiers twin cylinder motorcycle engine, it claimed to seat three people abreast with room for two children in an optional Dicky seat. About 20 were made.
Decline
As research and development picked up at bigger constructors, Allard failed to keep up its former pace and other manufacturers began producing cheaper and more technically advanced cars. Its new Palm Beach model was a year behind its competitors, the beautiful new K-3 failed to live up to expectations, and the large wood sided P2 Safari Estate could not find a market in spite of its eight seats, huge V8, and beautiful bodywork.
By the mid-fifties Allard was struggling. It attempted to give Dodge dealers a Corvette competitor by rebodying a Palm Beach with a Dodge Hemi engine. Unfortunately, the market was weak due to a late-'50s US recession. Few Allards were produced after 1959, and those only to special order.
Sixties Allards were simply performance-modified British Ford Anglias marketed as the Allardette 105, 109, and 116, using the straight four cylinder Ford Sidevalve engine. Production ended in 1966 when Sydney Allard died and a fire destroyed the factory and most Allard company records in the same night.
The Allard name was bought by a new company in 1991 but production never started. In 1994 a new version of the J2 was made by Allard Replicas of Harpenden, Hertfordshire in either kit or assembled versions with full agreement with the trademark holders. Production ceased in 1997.
A new version of the J2X, the J2X MkII, was displayed at the LA 2009 Auto Show.It is currently being produced in Montreal, Canada, and upper New York state, USA.
The Allard factory site is now a development of luxury apartments.
2006 Allard J2X Mark II
