Transmission: 4 gears, Manual gearbox
Model year: 2021
Registration number: AL-27-79

You see it everywhere, probably the most used word to praise a car in an advertisement “unique”. Let’s take a closer look at what makes a car unique. Is the car’s special equipment enough to elevate its status to unique? We do not believe so. A unique colour? Seems to obvious. We firmly believe a car is truly unique when you definitely cannot find another one, like this Alvis.

This happens to be the only Alvis Speed Twenty SD with a Vanvooren Cabriolet bodywork. A very special car with just as special story attached to it. The car has never in her long history been registered in the UK. The chassis was supplied to the world famous Courbevoie based coachbuilder Vanvooren in 1935. They immediately started to create its beautiful convertible coachwork. The final result shone brilliantly at the 1935 Paris salon d’automobile. At this very salon the car was sold to a Mr. Georges Bourgeon d’Hubert. He kept this stately British vehicle for no less than 30 years before selling it to its second owner in 1966, Mr. Serge Pozzoli. Pozzoli is a very famous name when it comes to classic cars. He was one of the first of the big collectors as well as founder of the Le Fanatique L’automobile magazine. The car remained part of his collection until his death in 1992. The sale if his collection nearly made world news but for the absence of a notable few cars, of which this was one. His family decided to keep this car and only decided to put it up for sale in 2012. The car was purchased by Martin Waltz, founder of the Volante museum in Freiburg. He sold the car to its last registered owner in 2018 who arranged for it to become a perfectly working car once more.

Waltz started a partial restoration that would take three years. Sometimes it is easier to restore as a full body-off job than attempting a partial restoration. When tackling a partial restoration the goal is to preserve as much as possible of the original structure and only repairing those parts in need. In this case the original paint was manually partially removed by an artist using a small scalpel, thereby exposing the original first paint layer. The wooden frame was completely treated with a preservative after necessary repairs had been carried out. The rest of the Alvis’s exterior remained untouched, resulting in a lustre that perfectly befits its loving use over the last 80 years. The interior was also subjected to extremely meticulous attention. The little tears in the leather that had occurred over the years were treated and sown back together. Only the carpets and hood have been replaced with new items as it had become impossible to preserve the old ones. Naturally only materials were used in the original colours are in keeping with the car. So after this partial restoration the car remained original for more than 90%. Even inspecting the car from underneath, the lovely original state shines through.

The Alvis Speed 20 SD is in any case a very rare car. According to Alvis Club the total production ran to just 149 cars of both hardtops and convertibles. This chassis is the only Alvis with Vanvooren coachwork. The Alvis Club archives from the 90’s suggest that in all likelihood only 59 Speed 20 SD’s from all the various coachbuilder have survived, of which just 17 are of the convertible variety. The car has a matching numbers 3 litre straight-six producing 87 Ps allowing the car to reach speeds of up to 145 km/hr, impressive figures for its time. As the car had not been driven for a considerable time it was decided to engage an Alvis expert to bring her back to life. The engine was thoroughly serviced, all fluids replaced and both the worn brakes and suspension parts were replaced. This Alvis is not just aesthetically wonderfully original but also offers an authentic driving experience only un-restored cars can offer.

The car comes with its original build sheet, a number of photos of the restoration and some general information about the car.

In short this is a truly unique opportunity to lay your hands on a very rare piece of Alvis’s long illustrious history!

Gallery Aaldering is Europe’s leading Classic Cars specialist since 1975! Always 400 Classic and Sportscars in stock, please visit www.gallery-aaldering.com for the current stock list (all offered cars are available in our showroom) and further information. We are located near the German border, 95 km from Düsseldorf and 90 km from Amsterdam. So easy traveling by plane, train, taxi and car. Transport and worldwide shipping can be arranged. No duties/import costs within Europe. We buy, sell and provide consignment sales (selling on behalf of the owner). We can arrange/provide registration/papers for our German (H-Kennzeichen, TÜV, Fahrzeugbrief, Wertgutachten usw.) and Benelux customers. Gallery Aaldering, Arnhemsestraat 47, 6971 AP Brummen, The Netherlands. Tel: 0031-575-564055. Quality, experience and transparency is what sets us apart. We look forward to welcoming you in our showroom.