1949 1949 Allard M1 Drop Head Coupe

Allard was a London-based low-volume car manufacturer founded in 1945 by Sydney Allard. Before the war, Allard supplied some replicas of a Bugatti-tailed special of his own design before moving into production of a range of models carrying his own name, at the cessation of hostilities. Allards featured large American V8 engines in a light British chassis and body, giving a high power-to-weight ratio and foreshadowing the Sunbeam Tiger and AC Cobra of the early 1960s. Using its inventory of easy-to-service Ford mechanicals built up during World War II and bodywork of Allard's own design, three post-war models were introduced with a newly-designed steel chassis and lightweight body shells: the J, a competition sports car; the K, a slightly larger car intended for road use, and the four seater L. All three were based on the Ford Pilot chassis and powered by a fairly stock 85 hp (63 kW) 3622 cc sidevalve V8 with a single carburettor and 6:1 compression, driving a three-speed transmission. They were bodied in aluminium. Sales were brisk for a low-volume car, which led to the introduction of several larger models, the drophead coupe M and P. The Allard M was a two-door, four-seater convertible marketed at the time as a Drophead Coupé and was considered by Allard to be its first civilised sports car. It was manufactured between 1947 and 1950, and production reached approximately 500. Allard became insolvent and ceased trading in 1958, with approximately 1900 cars produced.