British sportscar maker returns with a series of continuation copies of its JR Le Mans racecar
For the first time since the company underwent insolvency and ceased operations in 1958, the Allard Motor Company is back with a series of made-to-order ‘continuations’ of the JR which raced in 1953 Le Mans.
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Behind the historic brand’s comeback is found Sydney Allard’s son Alan, along with grandsons Lloyd and Gavin – the last of which acts as the archivist for the Allard Owner’s Club.
Just seven examples of the Allard JR were produced between 1953 and 1955 and, for the continuations, those same original designs and bucks will be used to produce the new cars with exacting period standard.
Traditional materials, components and manufacturing methods will be utilised as well, including a hand-formed aluminium body and a re-engineered version of the original specification Cadillac 331ci V8.
Buyers can opt for either a three or four-speed gearbox, with Allard Motors Company able to provide HTP papers certifying the car for international vintage racing.
As one of the few remaining family-owned car makers left, Alan Allard stated: “watching my father build these cars in period is a memory that will always stay with me”.
“The skills he’s passed on to me are now with my son, Lloyd, who has engineered and built the continuation you see today. Over 84 years on since the first Allard car was built, car number eight [of the seven original JRs] continues my father’s legacy”.
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Sydney Allard founded the company in 1945, in which it operated out of a small London facility. Famous for stuffing big American V8s into lightweight British sports chassis, the likes of Carroll Shelby and various other historic figures made their racing starts in an Allard.
Allard Motor Company produced around 1900 cars before it folded in 1958. Sydney Allard passed away in 1966.
The first Allard JR continuation – chassis 3408 – will be auctioned at RM Sotheby’s London sale on October 31, 2020, with a pre-auction estimate of AU$325,000 to $435,000.
One of the two Allard JRs from their final campaign at Le Mans 1953 sold at RM Sotheby’s Arizona sale in 2013, for AU$850,000.
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