One of the most interesting coachwork designs of the Classic Era involved the “parallel door,” created by James Young employee George Wenham and subsequently licensed to other firms. A solution for accessing large convertible bodies without opening a vast door into traffic, the system employed folding parallel hinges; the door would move outward from the car, then slide back parallel to the rear fender. It was both safe in operation and a wonderful, eye-catching party trick; several significant chassis of the era carried the design.

This Speed Twenty-Five SB was the only Alvis fitted with a “parallel door” drophead coupe body, built by E. Bertelli of Farnham to Wenham’s patent, and indeed, the only Bertelli-bodied example of this chassis. It was featured in the 9 April 1937 issue of The Autocar, showing the doors in operation and aptly describing it as “an Alvis drophead coupe of distinguished appearance.” By the time of publication it had already been delivered to the original owner, Arthur Bickerstaffe Woods, a Liverpool shipping heir and former Cambridge medical student-turned-actor and, eventually, director of documentary films. A photograph, a copy of which is included in the file, shows Woods with the car, with all its correct original features intact.

Alas, the original owner joined the Royal Navy within a couple years of delivery, and would be killed in action during World War II. His automobile was transferred in 1945 to J.B. Moor of Hellidon, England, and later to a hosiery manufacturer in Leicester, after which it moved across the Atlantic. Its owners on American shores included one Edwin Keeble, in 1957, and the well-known early Classic Car Club of America member, William Abbott of Alton, Illinois.

In the 1970s the car appears to have faded from view, only to re-emerge in Europe and be acquired by the present owner, a longstanding connoisseur and avid supporter of the marque. It was completely restored by the noted Red Triangle of Kenilworth, England, the foremost Alvis specialists, to exactly its original condition and appearance, and is offered today in highly appealing overall condition—a showstopping example of its marque.