1948 Allard K1

Following his success in pre-war trials events, Sydney Allard launched two new cars, the K1 and J1 in 1946. Both cars were two seat sportscars designed for road and competition use. Thanks to their simple bodies the K1 and J1 weighed very little and were powered by V8 engines, which offered plenty of performance. With 95bhp on tap and a top speed of 93 mph, they proved competitive at both club and international race meetings.

The K1 was the larger of the two models and came with a 3.6 litre Ford "flat head" V8 engine. For simplicity the gearbox and other mechanical items were also common to the Ford V8 models, which meant they were robust and well proven. The K1 model was more popular than the shorter J1 and continued until 1948 with just 151 units produced.

This Allard K1 was purchased by its current owner approximately twenty years ago and has undergone a rolling restoration over the last 5 years. From 1994, works have included a clutch rebuild, radiator refurbishment, brake overhaul, re-trim with full weather gear and new wiring loom by Phil Eton. In 2006, the engine was rebuilt by Belcher Engineering and the brakes overhauled again with phase 2 components fitted. The following year the car was repainted in its current finish of metallic grey with black leather interior and all bright-work was re-chromed. In the winter of 2008 the car was sent to an Allard Specialist who rebuilt the gearbox, renewed the front suspension, relined the petrol tank and overhauled the cooling system. In addition, the interior was re-trimmed again to compliment the new paint.

The history file documents most expenditure during the vendor's ownership with bills and receipts from marque experts. There are photographs of the car's mechanical transformation and a picture of an Allard K1 in the paddock, surrounded by C-Type Jaguars, at the Boreham 100 mile Daily Mail International on 2nd August 1952. The Allard in question was raced by a Mr C.L.Devereux and placed 9th. It is the vendor's understanding that this is a picture of VMG 579 and the original buff log book confirms that the car was registered in south-east area. However, further research will be conducted by Silverstone Auctions in order to ascertain the early history of this stunning K1.