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Allard J2 and J2X
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1950 - 1953 |
Country: |
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Engine: |
Various US V8's |
Capacity: |
280ci / 4589cc |
Power: |
150bhp |
Transmission: |
3 spd Manual |
Top Speed: |
108 mph (173 km/h) |
Number
Built: |
7000 (approx) |
Collectability: |
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Sydney Allard was a motor trader from London who liked
to go racing, and to compete in trials. In 1936 he
built the very first Allard Special, which was based
on a Ford V8 chassis and running gear, but which also
used part of a GP Bugatti's body shell!
He then went
on to build another 11 Specials before the outbreak
of war, all Ford based, with V8, or Lincoln Zephyr
V12 engines.
After the war, while the family retained
its Ford dealership, Allard set up the Allard Motor
Co., to build cars, announcing his first models in
1946.
These used side-valve Ford V8 engines and transmissions,
special chassis, and split-beam independent front suspension
with transverse leaf springs.
The original competition
two-seater was the J1, and this was replaced by the
legendary J2 in 1950; this latter iteration was manufactured
with an aluminum body, separate cycle-type wings, a
ladder-style frame, coil spring independent front suspension,
and a De Dion rear end.
The J2 boasted an impressive
top speed of 110 mph, helped in the main by its fitment
of a 160bhp Cadillac V8s power plant, although Allard
allowed a variety of different engines to be fitted.
Most cars sold in Britain used an ex-military 4.4 liter
Mercury V8, some with Ardun overhead-valve conversion
cylinder heads, which had been designed by Zora Arkus
Duntov.
It was with the Cadillac engine fitted that
Allard himself, co-driven by Tom Cole, took third place
at Le Mans in 1950, and Allards of this, and the later
J2X type (1951), won hundreds of races in North America
during the 1950’s. “X”, in this context,
referred to the new design of tubular chassis frame
applied to all Allard cars from 1952/53 onward.
It
was probably Allard who started the tradition of exporting
cars to the USA without engines or transmissions, for
enthusiasts to fit themselves. From 1953 (in spite of
a Monte Carlo win for the intrepid Sydney Allard in
1952), Allard's sales fell away as export competition
from cars like the Jaguar XK120s became too fierce.
The less sporting models, such as K, M and P types
were simply not fast enough, and the K3 Tourer was
not sporting enough. Allard tried to boost sales by
going “down-market” with
the Palm Beach models, which were smaller smoother-styled,
and with British Ford four-cylinder or six-cylinder
engines, but these were commercial failures.
So too
was an attempt to sell Allard’s with twin-cam
Jaguar engines, and the last cars of all were built
in 1959. Allard himself was a great European drag racing
enthusiast, and later dabbled rather successfully
in the tuning-up of small Ford models. Sydney Allard
passed away in 1966. |