Allards @ Silverstone Classic!

By Mike Knapman

The organisers of the Silverstone Classic set out to make 2011’s Classic the biggest and best ever.  “Rocking & Racing” were the two keywords.  They succeeded. Over 1100 entrants ensured full 52 car maximum grids for the historic races that went on from dawn to after dusk.  120 Classic car clubs and 7,000 thousand classic cars were on display.  A staggering 800 E-Types paraded on Saturday.   80,000 members of the classic car public paid to come in. The weather was not bad either, cloudy with sunny periods or vice-versa. This was “the biggest race meeting ever staged in international motor racing history”.

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RM Monterey Auction Preview - K2 1804

This August, RM will auction two Allards, the second of which is this K2 Roadster, chassis #1804. This K2 was delivered to an LA dealer (likely Noel Kirk or Moss Moss Motors) on December 1, 1950. Originally painted blue and fitted with Cadillac power, this K2 features Allards' De Dion rear suspension which was a rare option for K2's. The car now features Hallibrand disk wheels, Brooklands windscreens and looks very sporting. The car was featured in the June 2010 issue of "Auto Trader Classic Cars & Parts" magazine. This car is register as lot #142 and will be sold on Saturday evening. The estimate for this car is $100-120,000. You can view more photos of this car at the RM's web site.

Mystery Allard - Custom K2

Have you ever seen or heard anything about this custom bodied K2? Our build records don't note any K2's being shipped with partial bodywork so we must assume the car was rebodied at some time, likely after an accident. We're going to make a wild assumption that the car was rebodied in the mid to late fifties due to noticeable tail fins and 'continental kit' spare tire mount. If you know anything about this unique K2, please leave a comment or click here to email us.

 

Update on Friday, August 19, 2011 at 10:38PM by Colin

From Lindsey Parsons...

"Back in the early 1950's  the "Giant's Despair" hill climb near Wilkes Barre was associated with a road race event for under 2 liter cars at near by "Brynfan Tyddyn". This latter course was a short 3.5 mile road surrounding the lake estate of N Y State Senator T. Newell Wood. Senator Wood had a very "fancy" red K2 Allard in those days. I attended the race as a spectator one year, possibly in 1953 when I ran the hill climb in my new J2X (#3147) or perhaps the summer before, I simply don't recall. I do remember seeing the Senator's car there and was impressed with the shiny wire wheels it had in contrast to the normal ones. I vaguely remember how custom it appeared and I thought at the time it was very garish but, sadly, the details of its exact configuration have totally faded. It definitely could be this car however."

Allard K2 races on the sand @ 1953 Speed Week

Before the Daytona 500, Nascar hosted their Speed Week event in Spring on the sprawling sands of Daytona Beach. It's not known how many Allard's raced there, but in 1953 NASCAR had a sports car class. Robert "Bob" Hunt took his K2 there to compete and did quite well finishing second to probably the fastest sports at that time, a Jaguard XK-120C. Bob completed the standing mile with an average speed of 84.09 mph (the C-type was a hair quicker at 84.92!) and flying mile at 114.58 mph. The flying mile speed demonstrated superior aerdynamics [and gearing] of the C-type, which finished with an amazing average speed of 134.07 mph...besting Mr. Hunt by almost 30 mph (or 4 seconds)! Either way, the times and speeds posted by Mr. Hunt and his K2 were very impressive...although we must wonder what a Allard J2X-LM or JR could have done... Click here or the image above to view the full size image.

This scan came from the March 13, 1953 issue of Motor World magazine.

Allard Register, Issue #57

Click here or the image above to download the latest issue of the Allard Register. Enjoy!

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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Allards @ Amelia Island - The Photo Galleries

Click here or the photo above to view our five photo galleries from the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance on March 11 in Florida. Enjoy!

Cheers,
Colin Warnes

Video - Allards on the Amelia Island Tour

Sorry for the shaky footage.

Allards @ Amelia - Friday

Greetings from sunny Amelia Island! I'm sitting in the courtyard at the Ritz-Carlton watching the waves crash on the beach. So far the weekend has been wonderful. Friday morning started off with the Concours Tour, which was open to the three featured marques - Duesenberg, Kurtis, and Allard. Around 25 cars made the trip...of those 14 were Allards. The driivers reported that the drive was gorgeous, but chilly. The tour wrapped up in downtown Ferdinandia, where the public was invited to check out the cars for a few hours. After that, we proceeded to the Gooding & Co auction for their preview party and to check out the K1/2, which sold for $150,000. We then drove back to the Ritz to preview the RM Auction and their K2. The day wrapped up with a nice dinner at a local Peruvian restaurant recommended by the Rosenblad's.

Click here to enjoy some photos from Friday.

Wish you were here!

Cheers,
Colin Warnes

'Skip' and His K2 Allard

By Richard Saunders – with Chuck Warnes and Otto Meijer

Back in 1959 I drove my J2 Allard (No. 2156) over 1300 miles from San Diego CA to Bremerton WA. I underwent some major surgery at that time, and after an extended recovery I was finally able to drive the J2 again.

            The young guy delivering newspapers on local roads (herding a used-up Model A Ford) noticed my J2 Allard. He soon found an opportunity to pay me a visit. ‘Skip’ Torbitt was seventeen, small in stature, and appeared a lot younger. We talked a lot about cars, and I gave him a ride in my J2. During a subsequent visit Skip announced that if I knew of any Allard for sale, to please let him know – as he decided he had to have an Allard. (I’ll never know how he convinced his parents).

            Fate stepped into this scene. A few weeks went by, and we saw an ad for an Allard in the Seattle newspaper. Skip arranged to see the car, and I was recruited as the Allard expert to accompany him on the ferry over to Seattle. We then commenced our hunt for the address through the West End streets. Then, as we entered one street a bright red K2 Allard caught my eye.

 

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