Alvis Cars remains an iconic British marque. Its cars were owned by the rich and famous, particularly in the company's 1930s heyday. Fighter pilot Douglas Bader had one in his garage, while actors Tony Curtis and Malcolm McDowell still drive the firm's handiwork today. In all, Alvis produced 22,000 cars as well as providing aero engines for the Royal Air Force during the Second World War and powering the first hovercraft in the late 1950s. But 42 years after it closed its production line in the Midlands, new Alvis cars are set to roll out onto the forecourt.
Just one Alvis in particular will be built from scratch - a reproduction of its 4.3L creation, which was last built 71 years ago and will be available to potential buyers for £170,000 (Dh995,850). The venture is the brainchild of British businessman Alan Stote. Stote has had close ties to Alvis since buying Red Triangle in 1994. Red Triangle was set up in 1968 - the year Alvis closed down - to give ex-employees jobs and also to provide parts support for current Alvis owners.
Things took a fresh twist when Stote decided to buy the rights to the Alvis Car Company name off British Aerospace with the idea of producing new versions of the 4.3. "I think Alvis originally thought that Red Triangle would only survive as long as new cars were being looked after," explains Stote, "but, over the years, interest in old cars has just grown and grown, and Red Triangle is bigger than when it first started in the late 1960s.
"When I made the move to merge Red Triangle with the Alvis Car Company, that gave us the chance to restart production." As the leading Alvis specialists, clearly Red Triangle is the best placed to do that. In all, they boast 14,500 original drawings in their archives, which have been used for the last four decades to manufacture parts for the cars. And as a result, Stote plans to keep as true to the originals as possible using modern products.
"Like always, the Alvis Cars will be all British designed and manufactured; it's basically a time traveller. The only difference between this car and the old car is 71 years. Everything will be built from scratch from the original designs, the engine included," he said. With the way modern designs are, the "new" Alvis Cars on the road will have greater brake horsepower and torque but, unlike their predecessors, can be supercharged should an individual buyer require.
Some modifications are compulsory to meet modern road safety standards. For example, the new creations will have collapsable steering columns, hydraulic brakes and a high, centre-mounted brake light. In addition, there will be an engine management system and fuel injection. It would be fair to say that Alvis faces a rather niche market for buyers looking for a classic car that is, in fact, brand new, but Stote is confident that buyers will line up to get their hands on them.
"There is a traditional market of collectors of old cars who love old cars for their look and appeal but are worried by the way they might or might not run," he observed. "So we can give them the traditional look and feel - in every way a replica of what Alvis did in the 1930s - but without the reliability drawbacks of an old car. Basically it's all the pleasures of an old car without the hassles."
A part-new Alvis was on show at last month's Goodwood Festival of Speed - built on an old, restored chassis - to give potential clients an idea of how it will look. Since then, interest has ranged from the Middle East to the USA and from all over to Europe to Ethiopia and as far afield as Australia. "There's been a lot of interest but, until we have a car that people can actually drive, we're not taking any orders," said Stote. "We want to say to people drive the new car and then see how you feel.There were some serious enquiries when we were at Goodwood and, once people drive the car, I expect we'll get some orders."
One other major selling point, in Stote's mind, is the fact that buying a new Alvis is considerably cheaper than buying an old one and even restoring an old one. The most recent 4.3 on the market - there are just 11 of them still existing today - sold at auction for £500,000 (Dh2.9 million) while restorations can cost as much as £200,000 (Dh1.2 million), higher than the £170,000 asking price for a new one.
"We think it's quite competitively priced with a three-year warranty," he added. "Also, from our point of view, it will be easier than restoring one of the cars as you're starting with a perfect new chassis. It will be easier in every way, actually." Stote has a team of 16 technicians already working on restoration projects at Red Triangle and they will also turn their attention to building the new cars. As it stands, he believes he will not have to increase his workforce, which he hopes will produce a fairly unambitious two or three cars to start with.
"We can do more obviously if the interest is there as we've got the capacity to increase production," he said. "If that happens, then great and we can expand our staff numbers if necessary." Stote dismisses suggestions that there might not be any interest and doubly that he is taking an almighty risk in doing this in a market that is still struggling to come out of the global recession. "It's not really a gamble at all." he insists. "The investment we've made currently is not immense and we are using our current workforce so there's not been any great expansion."
The first car, which will be on display at the company's showroom in Kenilworth, England, is expected to be ready in the next two months after which time orders can be taken. The design and build process will rely heavily on CAD (computer-aided design) for producing the new 4.3s, and Stote would relish the opportunity to get his hands on one himself. An avid car collector, he already has an array of Alvis Cars in his ever-expanding garage, and he is clear where the appeal lies for the creations, which enjoyed their heyday in the 1930s.
"I've always had an interest in old cars and I have a few Alvis cars myself," he says. "I don't have one favourite - they're all my favourites in different ways. They're such unique cars and they're all simply wonderful cars to drive. "As for the appeal of Alvis generally, I think it stands out. There are a lot of old cars that look wonderful but aren't great to drive and likewise great drives that don't look as good. With Alvis I think you get the best of both worlds - they look great and drive fantastically. Added to that, they're all unique as the interiors were done by different coach builders at different times."
Stote is relishing working closely with buyers for the cars, with the process from start to finish possibly taking as long as 18 months. "We want our buyers to be involved from day one to explain what they need," he explains, "and I don't think an 18-month wait will put them off. People are happy to wait - I think they like the idea of waiting - for a fantastic product and we think we'll produce just that." motoring@thenational.ae