Allard
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Hutchison driving the very first Allard on Nailsworth Ladder sometime in 1938
Thanks to Nigel Brown.
Photographs - listed by registration number
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CLK 5 : Hutchison driving the very first Allard on Nailsworth Ladder sometime in 1938. Thanks to Nigel Brown. |
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Upper: FGF 290 (in the foreground) : What a wonderfully evocative picture taken in the market place at Dunster, on the edge of Exmoor, on 29th October 1938 at the start of the 1938 Experts Trial organised by the Mid Surrey Automobile Club. Look closely and you'll see that the character in the coat, with scarf, flying helmet, and goggles, is none other than Bill Boddy, the legendary editor of Motor Sport, who was passengering Hutchison on this event. FGF 290 had a V12 Lincoln engine and I'm pretty certain that the Allard behind is CLK 5 (see Tailwagger II sign-written on the bonnet). Team Award 1 was won by the Tailwaggers (Allard, Hutchison, Warburton) and I assume that Hutchison and Boddy were in FGF 290, Sydney Allard was driving FGP 750 (see below), and Warburton was in CLK 5, but I stand to be corrected if anyone knows differently. Lower: FGF 290 : Hutchinson driving, and Bill Boddy passengering, sometime in 1938. The general view is that this was probably taken on a trial that used the military land in the Aldershot area, possibly Red Roads on the Lawrence Cup Trial. FGF 290 is the car shown on page 128 of "More Wheelspin" driven by Leonard Potter at the top of New Kineton in the 1947 SUNBAC Colmore Trial. Thanks to Nigel Brown for both photographs. |
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FGP 750 : These wonderful photographs were posted on the Classical Gas Message Board in early December 2007 under the title "Christmas Quiz" and generated an unprecedented amount of interest although there is undoubtedly quite a lot of confusion between FGP 750 and FGF 290 as the cars had a similar appearance and the numbers are difficult to distinguish in some of the contemporary photographs. This is the current (11 December 2007) state of our knowledge about these two pictures: The car is the ex-Sydney Allard 1938 car; the date is 25th May 1946; the event is the 1946 Jeans Gold Cup Trial run by Liverpool Motor Club; the driver is Lady Mary Grosvenor; and the section is Swan Song Hill. Lady Mary lived at Eaton Hall, Eccleston, Cheshire, and was one of the daughters of the Duke of Westminster. She had bought the car from Ken Hutchison earlier in 1946 and subsequently used it at the very first post-war Shelsley Walsh hillclimb before selling it on to a Mr Pritchard from Anglesey. But does anyone know where Swan Song Hill is? Thanks to Martin Pratt from Chester Motor Club for providing the photographs, Michael Leete for posting them on Classical Gas, and numerous contributors, but most specifically Nigel Brown, John Lees, and David Alderson for providing the information above. |
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FLX 650 : A V12 Lincoln-engined 3 seater finished in early '39 for Commander Derek G Silcock. Coachwork by Whittingham and Mitchell. The car had dash-adjustable Andre Telecontrol shock absorbers and the engine had a set of three downdraught Strombergs on a special manifold. Silcock won a Premier Award in the 1939 Lands End in this car. Kinsella says that it also competed in the 1939 Exeter and Edinburgh Trials but Cowbourne lists Silcock in a smaller-engined Allard in the 1939 Exeter, and does not list Silcock or any Allard in the 1939 Edinburgh, so I'm inclined to think that the Lands End was this car's only trials outing. Pre-War, it competed at La Turbie hillclimb in France, at Prescott, and did 100 miles in an hours run at Brooklands. Post-war it was owned by Kenneth McAlpine who did the Allan Trophy Trial in November of 1946. Later bought by Leonard Potter, and re-registered NPB 144, it suffered a huge accident on the 1950 Alpine Rally and was written-off. Thanks to Nigel Brown. |
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MPG 250 : The last (chassis number 415) of the 12 competition J1 two seaters based on the 100 inch wheelbase chassis with a 3.9 litre Mercury engine bored-out to a fraction under 4 litres. The J1 had the engine set well back in the chassis, as was the seating position, and was clearly aimed squarely at the trials drivers. MPG 250, built for a Mr Frost in early 1948, had an alloy-panelled lightweight tubular steel body frame. It is currently owned by Paul Harvey. Sydney Allard "... decided the new trials J model was to be sold only to 'proven' drivers who would use them in competitions. It was not to be publicly advertised as this would draw too much attention, to the possible detriment of sales of the standard range." Thanks to Nigel Brown. |
Allard Links
- The History page of the Allard Motor Company website.
- The Candidi Provocatores page of the ACTC website.
Allard Miscellany
- Motor Sport - July 1981 - Pages 967 and 968
Denis Jenkinson's article, in the "Number Plates" series, about FGP 750.