Alvis TD 21

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Alvis
Alvis TD 21 Series I
Alvis TD 21 Series I
TD 21
Production period: 1958-1964
Class : Upper class
Body versions : Limousine , cabriolet
Engines: Petrol engine
3.0 liters
Length: 4788 mm
Width: 1676 mm
Height: 1448 mm
Wheelbase : 2832 mm
Empty weight : 1475 kg
Previous model Alvis TC 108 / G
successor Alvis TE 21

The Alvis TD 21 is a luxury vehicle from the British car manufacturer Alvis Cars , which was produced in two series from 1958 to 1964. It belongs to the three-liter model family, which is also summarized as the Alvis T-Series 21 . The TD 21 replaced the TC 108 / G , which had only been produced in a few copies. Like this one, the TD 21 was also offered from the factory with a standard body designed by the Swiss body shop Graber . In addition to these series models manufactured in Great Britain, Graber built a number of special models in the canton of Bern on the chassis of the TD 21, which were provided with different bodies.

History of origin

Before the Second World War , the Coventry- based company Alvis occupied a similar market segment as Aston Martin or Bentley . After the end of the war, Alvis made its debut with the so-called Three Liter Series , a range of sporty sedans and convertibles with a 3.0 liter in-line six-cylinder engine, the first version of which was sold as the TA 21 . The further development TC 21/100 presented in 1953 , which is also referred to as the Gray Lady , had a factory- made body with free-standing fenders that were manufactured by Mulliners of Birmingham , which was perceived as old-fashioned and “downright antiquated”. At the same time, Hermann Graber, the Swiss Alvis importer, clad some Alvis chassis with elegant, individual superstructures in pontoon style at the customer's request . The successor to the Gray Lady, the Alvis TC 108 / G , received a factory-designed bodywork designed by Graber, which led to a break with the company's previous style. The TC 108 / G received positive reviews in the press. However, since the newly signed body manufacturer Willowbrook had problems with the punctual completion of the standard bodies and there were also technical defects, the production of the TC 108 / G ended after two years and less than 20 copies in total.

With the successor called TD 21, which appeared in 1958, Alvis continued the basic concept of the TC 108 / G. The technology changed little, and for the TD 21 too, the factory used a standard body designed by Graber. The established British bodywork manufacturer Park Ward , which was primarily associated with Rolls-Royce , took over the production of the body . The relationship with the body manufacturer continued into the 1960s, when Park Ward had already been taken over by Rolls-Royce and merged with HJ Mulliner & Co. to form Mulliner Park Ward . With Park Ward, Alvis achieved significantly higher production numbers again.

In 1964 the TD 21 received a successor with the TE 21, which - continuing the name of the TD 21 Series II - was also referred to as the Alvis Series III .

Model description

drive

Three-liter in-line six-cylinder engine from Alvis

The Alvis TD 21 was powered by an in-line six-cylinder engine with 2993 cm³ displacement. It largely corresponded to the drive unit of the predecessor. The first 25 vehicles received the unchanged engine of the TC 108 / G, which made 104 bhp (78 KW). In November 1959, Alvis introduced a revised engine with a new cylinder head. The compression was increased from 8.0: 1 to 8.5: 1, and there were new carburettors. This increased the engine output to 115 bhp (86 kW). The maximum torque was 22.5 mkp (220.6 Nm) at a speed of 2500 per minute. The engine initially drove the rear wheels via a manual four-speed gearbox from Austin-Healey ; in the second series, a five-speed gearbox from ZF was used. A three-speed automatic transmission from BorgWarner was optionally available for the first time , and an overdrive was available for the manual transmission from 1960 .

landing gear

The chassis of the TD 21 corresponded completely to that of the TC 108 / G. The wheels were individually suspended at the front and fitted with torsion bar springs , while Alvis used a rigid axle with leaf springs at the rear . In 1959 disc brakes were in front with power assistance available, first as extra paid option, later they were transferred to the standard equipment. The disc brakes initially came from Lockheed and later from Dunlop .

Standard body

Thin C-pillar: TD 21 Saloon with factory body

The standard body of the TD 21 was based on a design by Hermann Graber, but Park Ward had made some modifications, including the light units and their fittings. The basic layout of the structure followed that of the TC 108 / G, and the overall proportions also remained unchanged. Outwardly, the TD 21 differed from its predecessor primarily in the design of the rear roof section: the C-pillar was no longer inclined inwards at the bottom, but formed a trapezoid with the rest of the structure. The indicated rear panorama pane was thus omitted . Another new feature was an angular bulge in the rear fenders, which took up a similar design feature of the “Ponton Mercedes” .

The factory version of the TD 21, like its predecessor, was available as a two-door sedan (“Saloon”). Unlike the TC 108 / G, the TD 21 was now also offered ex works as a convertible ("Drophead Coupé").

The body parts were mostly made of steel; only the roof, the bonnet and the trunk lid were made of aluminum. While Willowbrook had still made the body parts of the TC 108 / G by hand using wooden molds, Park Ward used sheet metal presses for the TD 21. This increased the production speed and lowered the price. The body panels were attached to a wooden frame.

Series II

TD 21 Drophead with factory body (Series II)

In August 1962, Alvis introduced a revised version of the TD 21. Outwardly, the series called Series II differed mainly in the positioning of the headlights. While the round additional headlights were on the front bumpers in the original model, they were now embedded in the sheet metal of the front panel. In addition, there were some technical changes, many of which were based on Hermann Graber's initiative. This included the introduction of the five-speed manual transmission from ZF, which replaced the previous four-speed version from Austin-Healey. From 1963, Dunlop disc brakes were installed on all wheels.

production

In the summer of 1958, Graber created two prototypes for the future TD 21 on behalf of Alvis. They were still based on chassis from the TC-108 / G series. It is unclear whether they were chassis that were not sold or complete vehicles that had been delivered and returned to the factory.

From 1958 to summer 1962, 750 units of the TD 21 Series I with factory body were built, and Park Ward produced another 320 vehicles from the Series II.

Graber specials

As with earlier Alvis models, Graber also manufactured individual special bodies on the TD-21 chassis, which differed from the standard bodies. Mostly it was coupés and convertibles. Many coupes and convertibles had a lower belt line than the production model. Usually - but not necessarily - the Graber Specials did without the upright chrome-plated radiator grille and instead had horizontally aligned radiator grilles. Some Graber Specials had twin headlights arranged one above the other and embedded in a common frame. In doing so, they anticipated a stylistic device that Alvis showed from 1964 in the factory bodies of the TE-21 models. A single cabriolet had a vertical C-pillar and a glass rear window that could be lowered electrically. In 1963, a four-door sedan with the name Sport Sedan was created as a one-off , which was sold for 37,500 Swiss francs.

Graber produced a total of 35 special bodies based on the TD 21 Series I ; in the case of the Series II, which was only produced for two years, there were fewer copies. One source speaks of five to seven vehicles a year.

Special versions

Mulliner Park Ward

In 1961 Mulliner Park Ward made a custom TD 21 drophead for the Duke of Edinburgh . The car was basically the same as the production version, but had a 3 cm higher windshield, an adapted hood and an electric hood mechanism. The dashboard was completely lined with leather; the walnut cladding of the series models was omitted.

Radford

The British coachbuilder Harold Radford , known for converting high-quality sedans into recreational vehicles, known as the Countryman , made changes to the luggage compartment of the TD 21 at the request of an individual customer. By enlarging the trunk lid and installing a foldable rear seat, the car was modified so that it could hold full fishing equipment. The renovation program was named Fisherman .

Technical specifications

Data sheet Alvis TD 21
Engine: 6-cylinder in-line engine (four-stroke)
Displacement: 2993 cc
Bore × stroke: 84 × 90 mm
Performance at 1 / min: 86 kW (115 bhp) at 4000
Max. Torque at 1 / min:  220.6 Nm (22.5 mkp) at 2500
Compression: 8.5: 1
Mixture preparation: Double carburetor SU HD 6
Valve control: 1 underlying camshaft
Cooling: Water cooling
Transmission: 4-speed gearbox or 5-speed gearbox (from 1962), stick shift
optionally 3-speed automatic gearbox
Front suspension: Independent suspension, trapezoidal wishbones, coil springs, telescopic shock absorbers
Rear suspension: Rigid axle, leaf springs, telescopic shock absorbers
Brakes: Front disc brakes, rear drum brakes (until 1963)
All-round disc brakes (from 1963)
Body: Steel on a wooden frame
Wheelbase: 2830 mm
Track width front / rear:
Dimensions: 4778 × 1676 × 1448 mm
Empty weight: 1475 kg
Top speed:  169 km / h

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 .
  • Rainer W. Schlegelmilch, Hartmut Lehbrink: English sports cars . Könemann, Cologne 2001, ISBN 3-8290-7449-2 .

Web links

Commons : Alvis TD21  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ In 1956 Alvis had only bought the rights to Graber's design for a limousine. The open version was therefore not allowed to be manufactured at the factory. The only convertibles on the TC 108 / G chassis were made by Graber in Bern.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rob de la Rive Box: Encyclopaedia of Classic Cars: Sports Cars 1945-1975. Taylor & Francis, 1999, ISBN 1-57958-118-8 , p. 26.
  2. ↑ Roger Gloor: All Cars of the 50s. 1st edition. Motorbuch Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-613-02808-1 , p. 57.
  3. ^ John Fox: Alvis Cars 1946-1967: The Post-War Years , Amberley Publishing Limited, 2016, ISBN 9781445656311 , p. 64.
  4. ↑ a b c d e John Fox: Alvis Cars 1946-1967: The Post-War Years , Amberley Publishing Limited, 2016, ISBN 9781445656311 , p. 53.
  5. ^ A b Dieter Günther: Swiss Connection. In: Oldtimer Market. Special issue no. 14: "Luxury, performance and four seats: Gran Turismo - the big coupés". 1994, p. 18.
  6. ^ John Fox: Alvis Cars 1946-1967: The Post-War Years , Amberley Publishing Limited, 2016, ISBN 9781445656311 , p. 52.
  7. ^ John Fox: Alvis Cars 1946-1967: The Post-War Years , Amberley Publishing Limited, 2016, ISBN 9781445656311 , p. 51.
  8. ^ Fox: Alvis Cars 1946-1967: The Post-War Years , Amberley Publishing Limited, 2016, ISBN 9781445656311 , p. 82.
  9. ^ A b Dieter Günther: Swiss Connection. In: Oldtimer Market. Special issue no. 14: "Luxury, performance and four seats: Gran Turismo - the big coupés". 1994, p. 19.
  10. ^ Peter Pigott: Royal Transport: An Inside Look at The History of British Royal Travel , Dundurn, 2005, ISBN 9781459717770 , p. 130.
  11. ^ John Fox: Alvis Cars 1946-1967: The Post-War Years , Amberley Publishing Limited, 2016, ISBN 9781445656311 , p. 66.
  12. ^ David Culshaw, Peter Horrobin: The Complete Catalog of British Cars 1895-1975, Veloce Publishing Ltd, 1997, ISBN 9781874105930 , p. 40.