Allard J2X loaded with heritage

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There are not too many sports cars that date back to the 1950s, which are still being replicated today. Both the Cobra as the Super Seven – the plus ultra replicars – are younger, while all these neo-classics which mimic 1930s Grand Tourers are obviously trying to look older. And so the Allard J2X is a good exception to that rule. Actually quite a few companies have recreated the Great British Beast in the past few decades. Descendants of Sydney Allard or just fans of the Clapham marque based both in the UK and the US/Canada. There was ‘Allard Motor Cars Ltd.’; ‘Allard Motor Works’; ‘Allard Sports Cars’ and ‘Allard Motor Sport’.

The car offered in Coys' 26 April Ascot sale, however is the real deal. A genuine J2X - one of supposedly 83 built between 1949 and 1953. In fact it is said to be the very first right hand driven car as the American market was the main target in the J2X’s earliest days. It’s powered by a 5.4-litre Cadillac engine tuned by Daniel Richmond of Downton Engineering in 1958. Richmond’s wife Bunty took it out for a spin regularly, too. The car was entered in a string of races and hill climbs, mostly in the club scene as the first few owners were respectively a test pilot, a hotel owner, a solicitor and a printer. The fifth and current owner bought it in 1981 and after 33 years thinks it’s time for a new curator. The 280,000-320,000 GBP estimate is about three times as much as the price for a brand-new replica. Cheap?

(text: Jeroen Booij)    

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