1961 Alvis TD21 Coupe

The TD21 was conceived in 1956 and was quite a departure from the lovely, but rather "post-war" TC21 however, on its arrival in dealer's showrooms, it quickly set about changing established views of the Alvis. Following the loss of coachbuilders Mulliner and Tickford (who were now tied to other companies), Alvis turned to the Swiss coachbuilder, Graber whose tradition of producing sleek, modern and very elegant saloons and dropheads proved a good fit in terms of the way Alvis saw their future. Graber first presented this new style to the Alvis board in late 1957 who were very impressed with the Swiss company's flowing design and commissioned the body to be built on the new TD chassis.To ease logistical problems, Park Ward of London, built the Graber designed bodies in the UK.

The Alvis 3-Litre, TD21 Series I was produced between the end of 1958 and April 1962 and was powered by the TC's 2993 cc engine, uprated by 15bhp to 115 as a result of an improved cylinder head design and an increased compression ratio. A new four-speed gearbox borrowed from the Austin-Healey 100 was incorporated. The suspension remained similar to the cars predecessor, independent at the front using coil springs and leaf springs at the rear, but the track was increased slightly and a front anti-roll bar added. From 1959 the all drum brake set up was changed to discs at the front retaining drums at the rear. In April 1962, the car was upgraded with four-wheel Dunlop disc brakes, aluminium doors, a five-speed ZF gearbox and pretty recessed spotlights either side of the grille, these improvements coming together to create the TD21 Series II. This impressive new Alvis boasted a most agreeable top speed of 105 mph.

Delivered new on the 19th July 1961, this "Gentleman's Express" slotted in neatly between the sporty Astons and the more genteel Bentleys. Purchased by our vendor in 2007, joining an extensive collection of post-war Bentleys and Jaguars, the car was subject to a full body-off restoration in 2012. This included restoring and sealing the chassis, a new coat of paint in a very sophisticated shade of Bronze, and a re-trim in the Connolly tan leather supplied some years earlier during the restoration of the Bentley R-Type in this sale. In 2015 the car was treated to a new Tremec T5 manual five-speed gearbox, propshaft, and sundry items at a cost of £4,814.40.

Presented to auction with a history file that includes photographs of the restoration and a raft of old invoices, the car has an MOT until July 2017 and the odometer reads around 62,500 miles.