Alvis Firebird

Alvis Firebird
4-door sports tourer by Cross & Ellis December 1934
Overview
ManufacturerAlvis
Production1935–1936
449 made
Body and chassis
Classsporting chassis, bodied to suit owner's requirements
Body styleTourer, coupé or saloon
Powertrain
Engine1842cc Straight-4
Dimensions
Wheelbase118.5 in (3,010 mm)[1]
Length173 in (4,394 mm)[1]
Width64 in (1,626 mm)[1]

The Alvis Firebird was a British touring car made between 1935 and 1939 by Alvis Ltd in Coventry.

Developed from the Alvis Firefly, 449 Firebirds were produced, as a two-door Tourer, a 2+2 sports tourer, a two-door drophead Coupé, and a four-door Saloon.[2]

Powered by an 1842 cc 4-cylinder overhead-valve Alvis engine, it had an aluminium body on an ash wood frame. As with other Alvis cars, the Firebird was built as a rolling chassis then sent to the coachbuilders Cross & Ellis, to be finished to the customer's requirements, so all Alvis Firebirds are different.[3] The Firebird had an all-synchromesh gearbox, and the chassis was lubricated by grease nipples under the bonnet.[4]

In 1939 World War II halted Alvis car production to make aircraft engines, and a German Luftwaffe bomb destroyed the Alvis car factory in 1940.[5]

4-door sports saloon, 1935

References

  1. ^ a b c Culshaw; Horrobin (1974). Complete Catalogue of British Cars. London: Macmillan. ISBN 0-333-16689-2.
  2. ^ "Alvis Firebird". Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  3. ^ "Alvis". Archived from the original on 31 August 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  4. ^ "The Firefly and Firebird". Archived from the original on 9 May 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
  5. ^ "Alvis cars - clever drophead coupes and saloons". Archived from the original on 9 June 2008. Retrieved 10 August 2008.
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