Alvis FWD

Alvis
Alvis FWD (1928)
FWD
Sales designation:	12/75
Production period:	1928-1930
Class :	Middle class , sports car
Body versions :	Roadster , touring car , limousine
Engines:	Petrol engines : 1.5 liters (37–92 kW)
Length:	3759-4039 mm
Width:	1753 mm
Height:
Wheelbase :	2591-3048 mm
Empty weight :	1270 kg chassis: 813 kg
Previous model	Alvis 12/50 SD, TG and TH
successor	Alvis 12/50 TJ

Alvis FWD FD with compressor (1928)

The Alvis FWD - also Alvis 12/75 - was a car that Alvis manufactured from 1928 to 1930.

This model was completely redesigned and technically had hardly anything to do with the street models produced so far. Rather, it was the result of experience that Alvis had gained with front-wheel drive vehicles that had been used in motorsport since 1925 and continuously developed. The great effort for motorsport, which at Alvis had tied up great resources in technical development and financial resources, should now pay off with the new, progressive road model.

With the FWD model, which was supposed to replace the previous models 12/50 SD, 12/50 TG and 12/50 TH , Alvis turned to a new group of buyers in the middle class segment, away from the previous, more conservative, towards a younger, technical one more open-minded.

The car had a four-cylinder in - line engine with an overhead camshaft . The engine with a single Solex carburetor with 1482 cm³ displacement (bore × stroke = 68 mm × 102 mm) made 50 bhp (37 kW) at 5500 / min. Upon request, a compressor could be flanged on, the carburetor system could be extended to two Solex carburetors and the compression could be reduced from 1: 5.7 to 1: 5.0. The engine thus achieved a peak output of 75 bhp (55 kW). The cars reached a top speed of around 136 km / h.

The chassis was also special: all 4 wheels had independent suspension on quarter-elliptical transverse leaf springs in the manner of a double wishbone suspension . The front wheels were driven.

The FA and FD variants had a short wheelbase of 2591 mm, while the FB and FE (the former only manufactured in 1928) had a significantly longer wheelbase of 3048 mm. All of these variants did not meet the manufacturer's sales expectations and were therefore taken out of the range again in 1929.

In 1929 a roadster appeared on the long chassis, which was equipped with an eight-cylinder engine with two overhead camshafts. The displacement of the 8/15 was 1491 cm³ (bore × stroke = 55 mm × 78.5 mm) only slightly larger than that of the four-cylinder, but the output of the engine equipped with a single SU carburettor was 125 bhp (92 kW ). This enabled the car to reach a top speed of 168 km / h and was also successful in a number of races. In 1930 the model was discontinued without replacement.

For the manufacturer Alvis, the FWD was ultimately not an economic success, but actually exacerbated the company's economic crisis: the advanced technology was not yet mature enough for everyday use and the break with technical habits was too great for the previous, rather conservative clientele. Above all, however, the introduction of the FWD coincided with the general economic decline in the course of the global economic crisis . After a restructuring, Alvis replaced the FWD series with the conservative model 12/50 TJ .

swell

• David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975 . Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 , pp. 35-40

Web links

Commons : Alvis 12/75  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files