Alvis 12/50 Sports (Duck’s Back)

Description

The Alvis 12/50 was introduced by British business Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd in 1923. A range of factory bodies (made by Carbodies and Cross & Ellis) could be specified in two- or four-seat form, with either open or closed bodies. Hugely satisfying to drive, it is generally regarded as one of the definitive vintage cars with an excellent balance of power, road holding and braking. The simplicity of its mechanical design and the strength of its chassis contribute to remarkable durability and reliability. The immortal 12/50 Alvis was produced from 1923 to 1933 with some 3616 examples built, of which 446 are known to have survived. The 12/50 was redesigned for the 1926 model year. From Autumn 1925 a new stronger chassis was used for the TE, which had its engine (now built around a redesigned crankcase) enlarged again to 1645 cc, and the TF of the same year with a short stroke version of the same engine, displacing 1496 cc. A single-plate clutch replaced the previous cone type, and for these and all subsequent 12/50s the engine was bolted directly to the flange-frame chassis, dispensing with the subframe of previous models. From the TE and TF models onwards four-wheel brakes were fitted as standard, single-shoe drums on the rear replacing the double-shoe drums of the previous model. The TE and was superseded for the 1927 model year by the TG. Confusingly, the short-stroke TF was replaced in the 1927 range by a car with an ‘S’ prefix: the SD.