Alvis GTS

Alvis
Alvis GTS
GTS
Presentation year:	1966
Vehicle fair:
Class :	Upper class
Body shape :	Coupe
Engine:	Otto engine : 3.5 liters
Production model:	none

The Alvis GTS (also: Rover / Alvis GTS ) is the prototype for a Gran Turismo developed by Rover , which was to be sold under the brand name Alvis . The vehicle was nicknamed Gladys . Series production failed due to a series of company mergers that made the model superfluous. It was just a single piece that still exists.

History of origin

The British luxury class manufacturer Alvis, founded in 1919, produced various variants of a two-door sedan with a 3.0-liter in-line six-cylinder engine in the post-war period. Since 1956, the vehicles had standard bodies designed by the Swiss body manufacturer Graber . The individual series of the so-called three-liter series , the TC 108 / G , TD 21 , TE 21 and TF 21 , differed only slightly in appearance and technology. In the mid-1960s, they were considered obsolete; Critics described them as "cars with a body from 1955 that sat on a chassis from 1951." Alvis' business focus at that time was already in the arms sector; the company manufactured, among other things, military vehicles.

In 1965 Alvis sold its automotive division to the then independent manufacturer Rover, which produced upper middle-class vehicles and initially considered positioning Alvis as an independent brand above Rover. The first work on a new Alvis model with the designation TA 30 had started while the company was self-employed. Under the Rover leadership, the Alvis TE 21 was developed into the TF 21; However, in view of the marked decline in interest, production was discontinued in 1967 after just one year. It was the last standalone Alvis model. The work on the successor model TA 30, which Alvis had started in the last few months of independence, Rover ended immediately after the takeover.

Instead, Rover developed the GTS as a potential successor to the Alvis TF 21. The car was technically derived from current Rover models. In 1966 a drivable prototype was created. The development of the GTS ended when Rover merged with the Leyland Motor Corporation in 1967 , which in turn merged with the British Motor Corporation in 1968 . The second merger resulted in the British Leyland Motor Corporation (BLMC), which also included the Jaguar and Daimler brands . BLMC saw no need to have a third luxury brand in the group alongside Jaguar and Daimler. The management immediately decided to discontinue the Alvis brand. Neither the GTS nor the mid-engine sports car Rover-Alvis P6-BS , which had been developed in the meantime, were further developed.

Model description

"Gladys": hatchback body with a large tailgate

The Alvis GTS uses the chassis and technology of the Rover P6 sedan . The drive was the 3.5-liter eight-cylinder V-engine from Rover, which was based on a design by General Motors . The body was designed by the Rover stylist David Bache . It was based on the Jaguar 420 FT Bertone , a unique piece that the Italian body manufacturer Bertone had designed in 1966 on the technical basis of the Jaguar 420 . A special feature was the steeply inclined C-pillar, which made the GTS a hatchback coupé and represented a clear departure from the clearly structured notchback models of the Alvis three-liter series. The GTS had a large tailgate attached to the roof edge. The front and rear overhangs were unusually long. The track was very narrow and the wheels were criticized for being too small. The front section carried rectangular headlights that were housed behind a glass cover. There was no longer a classic grille. Instead, the GTS had a horizontally oriented radiator opening with horizontal struts. Observers see this as an anticipation of the Chrysler Alpine .

prototype

Rover had a prototype of the GTS built in 1966. The vehicle was commissioned by the body manufacturer Harold Radford . After a short transition period, David Bache took over the car for private purposes. It has been on display at the British Motor Museum in Gaydon , Warwickshire , for several years .

literature

• David Culshaw: Alvis three liter in detail: TA 21 to TF 21 1950–67. Herridge and Sons, Beaworthy, Devon, England, 2003, ISBN 0-9541063-2-6 .
• John Fox: Alvis Cars 1946-1967: The Post-War Years , Amberley Publishing Limited, 2016, ISBN 9781445656311 .
• Chris Goffey: History of the Aluminum Alloy V8 . Autocar from November 20, 1976.
• James Taylor: Six Appeal . Restoring Classic Cars, November 1988 issue.

Web links

Commons : Alvis GTS  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

1. ↑ The design of the standard bodies went back to Hermann Graber; However, the series bodies were manufactured in Great Britain at Willowbrook and later at Park Ward and Mulliner Park Ward . Graber also built around 100 individual bodies on behalf of customers in Switzerland, some of which differed significantly from the standard bodies.
2. ↑ After the cessation of automobile production, the inventory, the construction plans and part of the staff of Alvis Cars were transferred to the company Red Triangle , which was subsequently involved in the restoration of Alvis vehicles. The company took over the naming rights in 2009 and has been operating as the Alvis Car Company ever since . For several years he has been offering replicas of some classic Alvis models that are based on old Alvis chassis, but are otherwise completely new. See the Alvis Car Company website (accessed on August 2, 2017).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c} Chris Goffey: History of the Aluminum Alloy V8 . Autocar from November 20, 1976.
2. ^ ^{A b c} John Fox: Alvis Cars 1946-1967: The Post-War Years , Amberley Publishing Limited, 2016, ISBN 9781445656311 , p. 74.
3. ↑ For the Jaguar 420 FT Bertone cf. the description on fabwheelsdigest.blogspot.de (accessed on August 2, 2017).
4. ^ John Fox: Alvis Cars 1946-1967: The Post-War Years , Amberley Publishing Limited, 2016, ISBN 9781445656311 , p. 76.
5. ↑ James Taylor: Six Appeal . Restoring Classic Cars, November 1988 issue.