Alvis Speed 20

Alvis
	Alvis Speed 20 SA touring car with body by Vanden Plas (1933)
Speed 20
Production period:	1932-1936
Class :	upper middle class
Body versions :	Touring car , limousine , convertible
Engines:	; Otto engines : 2.5-2.8 liters ; (64 kW)
Length:	4229-4572 mm
Width:	1651-1689 mm
Height:
Wheelbase :	3124-3302 mm
Empty weight :	1321-1575 kg
successor	Alvis Speed 25

The Alvis Speed 20 was a passenger car that Alvis manufactured from 1932 to 1936. There were four successive generations, SA through SD.

Models

Speed 20 SA

The engine of the Speed 20, an in - line six cylinder engine with overhead valves , was a heavily modified version of that used in the Silver Eagle model before that time . It had a displacement of 2511 cm³ (bore × stroke = 73 mm × 100 mm) and made 87 bhp (64 kW) at 4000 rpm. It was supplied with mixture by three SU carburetors. The chassis of the car had a completely newly developed low frame, the side members of which spanned both the front and rear axles in arches. The car had a central lubrication system that led oil in a network of lines to all moving parts of the chassis. Front and rear wheels were attached to rigid axles that were suspended from semi-elliptical longitudinal leaf springs. The wheelbase was 3124 mm, the track width 1422 mm. The mechanically operated drum brakes on all four wheels had a diameter of 356 mm. The manual four-speed gearbox was blocked with the engine.

For the Speed 20 there were a number of different superstructures with 4229 mm length and 1651 mm width. You often saw four-door sedans from the body manufacturers Charlesworth and Mayfair or four-door touring cars from Cross and Ellis , but some chassis were also delivered without a body and then on customer request, e.g. B. from the coachbuilder Vanden Plas , with superstructures, such as a convertible. The top speed was 142.6 km / h.

In total, around 400 Speed 20 SAs were built in 1932 and 1933 .

Alvis Speed 20 SA touring car (1932)
Alvis Speed 20 SA touring car (1932)
Alvis Speed 20 SA touring car (1933)
Alvis Speed 20 SA Touring Cars: Cockpit

Speed 20 SB

The Speed 20 SB was presented at the London Motor Show in 1933 and had a new chassis. With the same wheelbase, track width and width as their predecessor, the vehicles were considerably longer at 4572 mm. At the front, the car had independent suspension on a transverse leaf spring. The engine was taken over unchanged from the SA, but the gearbox was synchronized in the lowest gear and installed separately from the engine. Four jacks attached to the frame were supplied as standard.

As with the SA, there were many different bodies for the SB. Large Lucas P100 headlights with a diameter of 305 mm made the cars look sporty.

Alvis Speed 20 SB Sports Tourer (1934) as a sporty two-seater
Alvis Speed 20 SB Limousine from Vanden Plas

Speed 20 SC

The Speed 20 SC presented in 1935 had an engine with a displacement increased to 2762 cm³. The piston stroke had grown to 110 mm. The engine power remained the same, but was only at 4380 rpm. reached. The complicated steering mechanism was modified and the damping on the front wheels improved. There were two electric fuel pumps. The chassis with the wheelbase extended to 3150 mm was reinforced at the rear by side struts above and below the rear axle.

Alvis Speed 20 SC Coupé by Vanden Plas (1934)
Alvis Speed 20 SC sports sedan from Mayfair (1935)
Alvis Speed 20 SC Cabriolet from Lancefield

Speed 20 SD

The SD variant in 1935 and 1936 was very similar to the SC, but had larger petrol tanks. A chassis with a 3302 mm wheelbase was also available on request.

Alvis Speed 20 SD sports sedan from Lancefield (1936)
Alvis Speed 20 SD as an open two-seater (1936)
Alvis Speed 20 SD sports sedan (1936)

Detachment

As with many automobiles of that time, the bodies gradually became more luxurious and therefore heavier. Therefore, the Speed 20 was replaced by the 3½ liter in 1935 and both were replaced by the Speed 25 in 1936 . A total of 1165 copies were made in five years.

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.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975 . Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 , pp. 35-40.
↑ ^a ^b Michael Sedgwick, Mark Gillies: A – Z of Cars of the 1930s . Bay View Books, 1993, ISBN 978-1-870979-38-2 .

Web links

Commons : Alvis Speed 20 - collection of images, videos and audio files

[CulshawHorrobin-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975 . Veloce Publishing, Dorchester 1997, ISBN 1-874105-93-6 , pp. 35-40.

[AZ1930-2] Michael Sedgwick, Mark Gillies: A – Z of Cars of the 1930s . Bay View Books, 1993, ISBN 978-1-870979-38-2 .

Alvis Speed ​​20