Find Lots

• Auction House:
  Mossgreen
• Sale Name:
  Important Collectors' Cars
• Sale Date:
  28 May 2017 ~ 4pm
• Lot #:
  11
• Lot Description:
  1953 Alvis TA21G Fixed Head Coupe
  Chassis number: 25089; Engine number: 25790. This vehicle will be sold unregistered.
• Notes:
  True automotive engineers, the Alvis 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 round 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 4.3 litre 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.” Indeed, this may very well be the first time that the oft used term ‘super car’ was ever coined. On November 14th 1940, over 400 German Luftwaffe bombers carried out an intense raid on the City of Coventry destroying 75% of all the buildings in the city, 50% of all homes and 33% of all factories, including the Alvis works which were severely damaged. Car production ceased though Alvis as part of the war effort continued to carry out aero engine production for the RAF and ran 21 ‘shadow’ factories. Towards the end of 1946 car production recommenced at Alvis. In these post war years Alvis continued to innovate. By 1950 a new chassis with a 3 litre 6-cylinder engine was announced and this, the TA21 was to be the basis of all the remaining Alvis models. There was also a drop head version by Tickford and beautiful specialist coachwork by the Swiss coach builder Graber. The relationship with Graber developed and this design would have an important bearing on all future Alvis cars until the marque’s demise in 1967. The origin of “Carosserie Graber“ goes back to 1925 when Hermann Graber started as an independent coachbuilder in Wichtrach near Berne in Switzerland. In 1929 a Panhard-Levassor bodied by Graber won first prize at the St-Moritz Concours d’Elegance which gave the coachbuilder valuable international publicity. From the 1930s Graber became famous for his beautiful convertible and subtle coupé body designs, and for the quality of build and craftsmanship. This 1953 Alvis TA21G fixed head coupé offered, was delivered by Alvis in chassis form to Hermann Graber in Berne on New Year’s day 1953. The ‘G’ which is stamped in the engine bay denotes that the vehicle had been ordered by Graber from the Alvis factory in Coventry. Graber built a classic European body on the car. It joined marques such as Bentley, Delahaye and Talbot-Lago with bodies produced by him as a Grande Routier – the kind of car, that for those of means, would comfortably drive down the French Routes Nationale from Paris to Nice for a long weekend. As was common with many quality European cars of the time it was presented in right hand drive, a status symbol indicating the owner could afford an imported chassis, though metric instruments were fitted to suit Continental touring. Graber built the elegant fixed head coupé as an exhibition ‘special’ for display at the 1953 Geneva Show. Its coachwork is recorded as body number 644, and is of unique design. The vehicle was well received at the Geneva Salon and a photograph and description were carried in the March 1953 Autocar magazine. The car was sold later in 1953 to a Swiss businessman, Mr Heinz Weber of Zurich. The car was painted white and had disc wheels. When Graber needed a car for the 1954 Salon, Herr Weber agreed to loan back his car to Graber on the condition that it be repainted bronze as it is presented today. Originally this car had the then standard Alvis TA21 engine, developing 85bhp. English Alvis restorer Nick Simpson later substituted a more powerful TC21/100 motor with twin SU carburetors (and a higher ratio rear axle), increasing output to 100bhp.This early engine change explains why the chassis and engine numbers are no longer matching. In 1957 the car was returned to Graber as a trade-in on a newer model, an Alvis TC108G. The old-model car, not finding a buyer, was fitted with a towbar and heavy rear springs and was used as the Graber factory run about. The Graber coachbuilding business ended in 1970 with the death of Hermann Graber. In 1975 Nick Simpson discovered the car under a dust sheet in Madame Graber’s private garage when he was visiting to help repair and prepare her cars before a rally. Helping to get her Delahaye sorted he found dusty 25089 languishing at the rear of the garage. He had ‘discovered’ the first 3-litre Alvis chassis and indeed the only fixed head coupé TA21 to have received the Graber treatment, the car which had established the long association between Graber and Alvis, culminating in the TF21 series. Simpson offered to purchase the car from Madame Graber who finally relented some 12 months later. In 1976 therefore 25089 was brought to England and a mechanical restoration commenced in 1977. Between 1978 and 1990 the car covered some 30,000 miles by which time the bodywork was now in need of attention. In 1990 the car was restored mechanically and bodily by Nick Simpson. Engine, gearbox, axle, suspension and chassis were all overhauled. Some body sheet metal was detached, the ash frame was partly replaced and all original panels re-attached and painted to the original colour discovered below the many layers of paint which were removed at restoration. As Nick Simpson said at the time of the completion of the restoration, “I consider myself to be part of the link generation. I was able to buy the car from the wife of the man who built it. I did the research, speaking to people who worked on it when it was being built. I’ve combined everything I know to get the car to its original state. I have original documentation, factory records and historical background than can all go to the next owner.” Simpson sold the car in 1996 and 25089 spent the next ten years in a private museum in Saudi Arabia. The current owner purchased the car in 2007 when it was offered for sale in England. The car has been meticulously maintained by the current owner and we are told drives beautifully. In 2011 it was shipped to England and participated in the Alvis Round Britain rally, and took out the award for Best Foreign Entry at the International Alvis Day at Brooklands. The car was repainted again 2015. This car is featured in a number of books and magazines including:- Autocar March 1953; Thoroughbred & Classic June 1984; Supercar Classic February 1988; Classic Car Weekly December 1991; Classic Car February 1993; Classic & Sportscar March 1994; Restored Cars March-April 2010; Alvis – the postwar cars by John Price Williams 1993. Pages 11, 91 and 92; Alvis. Three Litre in Detail by David Culshaw 2003. Pages 127 and 129; Alvis. The Story of the Red Triangle by Kenneth Day fourth edition 2008. Page 235; Alvis Cars 1946-67 The Post War Years by John Fox 2016. Pages 30 and 93; This car has also featured as the ‘Car of Honour’ at the Friends of Hermann Graber meeting in Switzerland and was also exhibited at the Motorclassica Concours d’Elegance in 2015. The current odometer reading of 75,500 kilometres is genuine and recorded in the extensive history file which accompanies this car.
• Estimate:
  A$150,000 - 165,000
• Realised Price:
  *****
  

  Can't see the realised price? Upgrade your subscription now!

• Category:
  Automobiles & Accessories

This Sale has been held and this item is no longer available. Details are provided for information purposes only.