The Alvis is one of the great European automobiles of the pre-war era, known for its superlative engineering that challenged the likes of Bentley and Lagonda for high-speed touring supremacy. Especially outstanding was the 4.3 Litre produced between 1936 and 1940, which featured a robust overhead-valve six-cylinder engine, enlarged and strengthened over previous models, turning on seven main bearings and producing 137 horsepower. The 4.3 Litre was claimed to be the fastest tourer on the British market, with a top speed in excess of 100 mph—and with the most beautiful coachwork, it looked the part.

Per the owner, a longtime student and connoisseur of the Alvis marque, car number 18558 was one of 17 4.3 Litre chassis with the Vanden Plas “pillarless” saloon coachwork, and is one of nine known survivors worldwide. It was originally delivered in February 1937 to John Harold Strachan of Cobham, England. As is common for a pre-war British automobile, history picks up post-war in 1957 in the care of Mrs. Gisele Harvey of London and is continuously known since. Following several further UK caretakers, the car was brought Stateside in the early 1960s, in the hands of R.H. Goldberg, and resided on the East Coast.

The car was eventually acquired from decades of hiding by the present owner, a longtime collector of the Alvis marque, who undertook a full restoration in the hands of Red Triangle of Kenilworth, England, the foremost marque specialists. Finished in a rich, subtly metallic gray over red leather interior, it presents beautifully throughout, with the fine detail one would expect in British coachbuilding of this era. Significantly, it retains its original major numbers-matching components, as described on its Alvis Car Record, a copy of which is included in the file. It is believed to have not been available to the public in the last 49 years.

This is a lovely specimen of an outstanding performance chassis of its era, with one of the most desirable bodies.