Andrews AFB, 1954

Very cool color racing footage from the 1954 Andrews AFB races. You'll see a number of Allards including Fred Wacker and his  8 Ball.

Allards in Scale

As Allard enthusiasts, one of our pet peeves is that is that there are so few scale models of our beloved cars. Sure there are a few models from Kenna (K1 & K2) and Bizarre (J2), but nothing that's really unique. Recently we were contacted by a scale model enthusiast Niek van der Mark from the Netherlands about the paint colors of the Abbott Special (a special coupe based on the Palm Beach). After some digging (and help from David Hooper), we were able to confirm the lower body was light green with a cream roof.

We were pleased to check our email the other day when we found an email from Niek with photos of his latest creation. Also included were photos of a number of Niek's other Allard creations including a GT, JR, K1, K2, K3, P1, and L-type. If you're wondering where you might pick one of these up...they might be kind of hard to come by. The Abbott and GT were made by a small company TW, who made small batches (5-6) of cast metal (body in white) 1:43 classic sports cars back in the 80's. As you can see Niek has an impressive eye for detail.

Hopefully with the advent of 3D printing, we'll start to see more Allard scale models. 

Allards at the 2013 Classic Motor Show

-Mel Herman

250 Classic Car Clubs and 1,600 Classic Cars filling 11 Halls brought 65,000 enthusiasts to the 2013 Classic Motor Show at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham this year. The Allard Owners Club displayed 5 fantastic cars on stand 740 in Hall 12 and Mick Walsh, the editor of Classic and Sportscar magazine, said that ours was his favourite stand of the whole show.

There were two elements we wanted to feature on our stand in this year’s AOC display. The first was the 60^th anniversary of Sydney leading the pack on the opening lap of the 1953 Le Mans in his JR which we extended to feature all the J series models which ran at Le Mans in period.

The second was the first outing for the Palm Beach Mk ll which has been painstakingly and wonderfully restored by Lloyd and Alan Allard at their company Allard Sportscars Ltd. in Gloucester.

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Video: Allard Stand @ Classic Motor Show 2013

Below are a few videos of the 2013 Classic Motor Show in Birmingham. Special thanks to Graham Clark for shooting and posting these videos!

The Duntov Memo

We are very pleased to present to you this exclusive document...The 1953 Le Mans Duntov Memo. To our knowledge it has never been seen in public. Back in January, we shared a map of the Le Mans course with Zora Akus Duntov's notes on the speed zones around the track and that it was a part of a larger report that helped set the performance transformation of the Corvette. You may also recall that Zora was almost fired by GM for racing at Le Mans for the Allard team...saved only by the grace of Ed Cole.

The report is fascinating in that he provides an analysis of the competition, along with a scathing review of the Allard JR's handling...while remaining steadfast that the Allard team had the best engines in the field (which happened to be Cadillac V8's...was Zora kissing up to the GM brass?).

Click here or the image below to view the complete memo. Special thanks to Allard owner Steve Schuler and his mole within GM for sharing this important memo.

Back in time...

Our good friend Kerry Horan sent in the clipping above from the July 1967 issue of Road & Track. By digging through our chassis database, we believe the P1 is chassis 1720. Basically it's the only RHD P1 with black paint and a maroon interior that ever made it to America...that we know of at least. The JR is chassis #3407 that resides in the Mallya Collection. Our records indicate that the car shipped to the US in September 1962 after leaving the car of long time Allard enthusiast Rupert de Larrinaga.

Zora's Notes

The image below is from Zora Arkus Duntov's technical report on the 1953 Le Mans race. This is the race that almost got Zora fired from GM, which means the Corvette as we know and love today...almost never was.

Reminder: The car that Zora raced to help create this report is up auction this Friday at RM in Scottsdale, lot #115.

Scottsdale RM Preview: JR-3403

This is probably one of my most favorite Allards, JR-3403...just one of 7 built. The car was raced at Le Mans in 1953 by Zora Arkus Duntov and Ray Merrick for 65 laps before retiring. After Le Mans, the car was sold to Col. Reade Tilley of the Strategic Air Command. This JR (also called a J2R) is ready to race and it will likely gain the new owner entry into the most premier vintage race & rally events around the world. To learn more about the car, click here to view the RM post. The car will be sold as lot #115 on Friday January 18. The estimated selling price is $350-450,000, which I believe to be fairly modest. With the right bidders, this car could double that estimate and be worth every penny.

Photos by Scott Miller, courtesy RM Auctions

Here's a video of the car prepping for Le Mans, courtesy of Cadillac Engineer Frank Burrell:

Monterey 2011

The experience of searching one’s way through Sunday morning pre-dawn fog, curves and pines of Pebble Beach is somewhat surreal. At times the only connection with the real world seemed to be the intermittent signals from random flashlights that eventually directed us to our parking lot. The experience gave us a special appreciation for the diligent efforts of hundreds of employees and volunteers who had been on duty half the night.

Our goal was to arrive at the Del Monte Lodge before the first of the Pebble Beach Concours entrants began to chug, purr or roar their way from the Polo Grounds to their designated spots on Pebble Beach’s 18th fairway overlooking Carmel Bay and Point Lobos. The low overcast sky and moderate temperatures were a photographer’s and spectator’s dream.

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Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance – 2011

 

By Chuck Warnes

Allard, Kurtis and Duesenberg were honored as featured marques for the 16th annual Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance.

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