Talk:Alvis Speed 25

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Engines

Latest comment: 9 months ago1 comment1 person in discussion

The article seems to be wrong to claim that the 1935-6 3-1/2 Litre was a Speed 20 model -- it obviously wasn't, having a 25.63hp Treasury rating and a lengthened 10'7" wheelbase, as well as much higher prices, £775 for the chassis and at least £1,170 for a sports saloon, to the Speed 20's £600 and £850 -- and it is also wrong to claim that the 3-1/2 engine had only four main crankshaft bearings. It had seven, of course, because this was the same seven-bearing engine that was fitted to the replacement Speed 25 from 1936 on. See T.R. Nicholson, 'The Alvis Speed Twenty & Twenty-Five, 3 1/2 & 4.3 Litre Models', Profile Publications, Leatherhead, 1966, pp.6-9, 'Alvis Announce a New 3 1/2 Litre Car', Motor Sport, October 1935, in R.M. Clarke (ed.), Alvis Gold Portfolio 1919-1967, Brooklands Books, Cobham, 1989, ISBN 1-870642-848, p.87, and 'A De-Luxe Alvis', Motor Sport, February 1936, in Clarke, op. cit. pp.89-90.

In the Speed 25 the engine had the compression ratio raised from 6.0 to 6.1, and bhp from 102 at 3,600rpm to 106 at 3,800rpm, which, combined with a shorter Speed 20-type 10'4" wheelbase, gave markedly higher performance, maximum 96mph-plus compared to 91mph (see Kenneth Day, Alvis: The Story of the Red Triangle, Haynes, Yeovil, 1997, ISBN 0-85429-667-0, pp.pp.223-4), and 0-60 in 15 seconds compared to 20 (Nicholson, op. cit. p.9).

The 3-1/2 was meant to be a large luxury car (Nicholson, op. cit., p.8), but it was overpriced for Alvis's market and only 61 were sold. (Day, op. cit., p.367.) The Speed 25 was marketed instead as a faster and more powerful Speed 20, with the Speed 20's chassis and at the Speed 20's price, £600 for the chassis and £850 for the standard Charlesworth saloon, later raised to £885 with various improvements. (Nicholson, pp.6,9.) The Speed 25 sold much better, 114 in 1936 and 254 in 1937, before war fears led to a slide in car sales, though the total by the end of production in May 1940 was still a respectable 536. (Day, p.367) Khamba Tendal (talk) 19:30, 14 February 2024 (UTC)Reply

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