Rallye Monte Carlo Historique - 2012

 

In celebration of the 60^th anniversary of Sydney Allard’s victory in the Monte Carlo Rally, an Allard once again braved the roads from Glasgow to Monte Carlo in competition. The Rallye Monte Carlo Historique (RMCH) is essentially the modern running of the same rally Sydney won 60 years ago. Typically the RMCH is limited to cars produced between 1955 and 1980, but thanks to the lobbying efforts of Allard owner and Monte Carlo resident, Alex Edmonds, the 1950 Allard P1 of AOC Captain Dave Loveys and brother Roger was granted special entry.

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Allard J2X Trophies at the Grand National Roadster Show

 

Congrats to Alan Beall, owner of J2X 3062 and restorer (hot rodder) Steve Dennish for winning 2nd place in the Foreign Sports Car division. Cheers!

Allard to be Featured on Velocity Channel

If you have the Velocity HD channel, you’re probably aware that they have a number of nice car shows including Chasing Classic Cars, Autoweek, and American Icon. In addition to these interesting shows, they also have a short feature called “One of a Kind” where they feature interesting and rare cars. On February 7 at 8:00pm, they’ll debut a new episode featuring David Hans' unique, full fendered Allard J2. The car, chassis 1733 was a test bed for the Murray Body Company. The body proved quite attractive, but production obviously never took off. You can watch Velocity for the short, or you can click here to view the clip online after it’s posted.

Video: Color Newsreel footage of British Monte Carlo Win

Unfortunately the footage is pretty rough, but the color is great. Does anyone have the original footage?

Video: Newsreel Footage of Monte Carlo Victory

Newsreel footage announcing Sydney Allards victory in the in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally. Check out www.britishpathe.com for more great videos.

Video: The Allard Team Returns Home

Great video of Sydney Allard, Tom Lush, and Guy Warburton returning home from their victory in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally. Check out www.britishpathe.com for more great videos.

Success! The 1952 Monte Carlo Rally

There's probably no better way to commemorate Sydney Allard's win in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally than by posting a firsthand account of their ordeal. The author is unknown, but it's assumed to be either Sydney or Tom Lush. We've also included photos of the rally that we doubt you've ever seen. Enjoy!

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The crew for this Rally consisted of Sydney Allard, Guy Warburton and Tom Lush, and the crew arrangements were that Sydney and Guy should share the driving and Tom to be responsible for navigating and time keeping. The same crew had done the Rally previously and this arrangement had proved satisfactory.

We selected Glasgow as our starting point; the alternative starting places in Europe meant too long a time away from the office desk, and when the starting list was published we found we were the last but one to leave, there being 72 people; in front of us. Mrs. Allard and her sisters, who wore also driving in an Allard, were 15 numbers ahead of us and this order was of course kept until their unfortunate retirement some 300 miles from Monte Carlo.

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The Monte Carlo Rally, 60 years later

Over the next few days, we'll be celebrating the 60th anniversary of Sydney Allard, Guy Warburton, and Tom Lush winning the Monte Carlo Rally in an Allard P1. The event started on Tuesday January 22, ending on Sunday the 27th. For those of you unfamilar with the classic Monte Carlo Rally, the event was a long distance road rally which emphasized navigation and timing on open roads as opposed to the special stage rally format we have today. In 1952, competitors started the rally on Tuesday January 22 from select cities all over Europe. Start cities included Glasgow, Oslo, Stockholm, Munich, Palermo, Lisbon, and Monte Carlo. The Allard team chose to start from Glasgow because they felt it would provide the most favorable weather conditions en route to Monte Carlo. In 1952, the weather would play an important factor, with the Alps blanketed in thick snow the route would be treacherous. 328 teams started the rally...only 167 finished.

In over 100 years, only 5 Britons have won the "Monte" and only one driver has won in a car bearing his own name. The driver and car were both named Allard.

RM Scottsdale Auction Preview

This year, RM will auction two Allards at their Scottsdale auction on Friday January 20. The first car is K3 3261, which was formerly owned by our late Historian, Bob Lylte. This K3 was originally sold through Noel Kirk Motors in LA to an engineer working on the Nike guided missle project. The car retains its original specification, including powder blue paint, Cadillac engine, and Hydramatic transmission. The car, Lot 244, is offered at no reserve and is estimated to sell for $85,000 to 125,000. Click here or the photo above to learn more about the car. AR Analysis: A very nice, powerful touring car that is perfect for vintage rallying.

The second car is K2 3019 which is ready for the track. The car features a DeDion rear suspenion (rare option for a K2), two fender mounted spare tires (another rarity), and a race prepared 600-HP Chrysler Hemi V8. The car carries FIA Historic Vehicle identity paper (#94/1571) and was invited to race in the Goodwood Revival. This car, Lot 220 is offered at no reserve and is estimated to sell for $175,000 to $215,000. Click here or the photo below to learn more about the car. AR Analysis: Great buy for anyone looking for a very competative car that can get into virtually any vintage race meeting.

 

Mystery J2

Daniel Rapley is seeking help in finding the true identity of his Allard J2. Here's what is known:

1. LHD
2. Steel Wheels
3. Looks to have been originally painted Red
4. Later painted in a medium Green
5. There are remnants of an old SCCA sticker on an interior panel
6. The car was found in the Northeast in the mid 1970's
7. It is believed that the body was lost in a fire. The old steering wheel is burnt.

If you known anything about this car, please click here to email Daniel. Click here to view the extensive photo gallery.