The Alvis Drophead Coupe Remains, Evocative, Elegant, and Overlooked

Most car people would be challenged to count on the fingers of one hand the few British luxury car brands still extant (as distinct from pure sports cars like McLaren, Lotus, and Morgan). Those would be Rolls-Royce, Bentley, Aston Martin, Rover (at its best), and Jaguar (the future of which is a point of debate). But there is another hand’s worth of notable—if extinct—luxury marques, including Bristol, Daimler, and Lagonda (though Aston Martin attempts to keep that flame alive).

Then there’s the little-known Alvis. Initially shuttered nearly six decades ago, it was revived in roughly 2008 thanks to collector Alan Stote. After buying the original parts inventory, he and his team now offer both Alvis restorations and continuations. To see an Alvis in the metal is to behold an expression of Britain’s refined automotive past.

Alvis Car and Engineering Company Ltd. of Coventry, England, was founded in 1919 by Thomas George John, and was eventually acquired by Rover in 1967. Altogether, it was an impressive run for a small manufacturer, during which time the company made luxury cars, innumerable armored vehicles, aircraft engines, and even some racers. Alvis was innovative, developing the first front-wheel-drive automobile in 1928 and the first all-synchromesh gearbox in 1933. Today, Alvis cars stand out on concours fields. Until the mid-1950s, most were old-fashioned four-door saloons, but the TD21 changed all that—as did its TE21 and TF21 successors.

The TD21 was launched in 1958, with 1,069 built in two series through 1963. The model was available as an elegant two-door sports saloon (slightly larger) or a more rakish two-door coupe. A drophead coupe (convertible) was eventually added. The design was by Swiss coachbuilder Graber, and the bodies—whose profile and proportions appear picture-perfect—were made by Park Ward, a Rolls-Royce subsidiary. The car was fit with Alvis’ own 3.0-liter inline-six engine—developing an adequate 115 hp—mated to an Austin Healey four-speed manual gearbox. Front disc brakes became standard in 1959, with all-wheel discs from 1962 onward.

The TE21 followed from 1963 through 1966, with 353 built. The TF21, launched in 1966 and with only 106 made through 1967, signaled the end of Alvis’ automotive lineage. Available with a coupe or drophead body, the TF21 has a 150 hp engine that allows the model to have a top speed of 120 mph, making it the fastest Alvis ever. But it was also costly (more than Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz equivalents), and with a new decade looming, the numbers just didn’t crunch for a car with attractive but aging looks, as well as engineering and performance that were clearly behind the curve.

Limited-production, handmade cars can demand a lot of costly attention when fixes are in order, and in this respect, an Alvis is no different from a Rolls-Royce or Bentley of the era. Values for a TF21 Drophead Coupe range from $50,000 for a car in good condition to $120,000 or above for a concours-quality example. A TE21 Drophead will cost a little more, while hardtops of all series are valued at about half that of their convertible counterparts. Some rare, Graber-bodied models command far more than “standard-production” cars with Park Ward coachwork.

Today, the cost of a full restoration can easily be substantially greater than that of a concours-quality TF21 Drophead crossing the auction block, once again recalling the mantra, “Buy the best car that can be found and afforded.” Admirers wishing to have a brand-new Alvis can commission an exquisite continuation—a few famous prewar and postwar models are available—from the current incarnation of Alvis Car Company Limited.

Click here for more photos of this 1964 Alvis TE21 Series III Drophead Coupe.