Description
Compilation by R.M.Clarke and Tony Beadle, Softbound, 212 Pages, ISBN: 9781855208322,
- Road tests including the Special, Monte Carlo, Type - J - K - L - M - P, Grand Turismo, Safari, Palm Beach, Dragsters
To say that Sydney Allard was a remarkable man is merely stating the obvious and to repeat what has been said about him many times before. On the other hand, Allard's enthusiasm for high performance machines has had many far-reaching consequences and I for one owe a lot to him because he was directly responsible for the incredible experience that changed the course of my life forever.
On Saturday 19th September 1964 I joined thousands of spectators at Blackbushe Airport in Surrey to witness a team of American drivers put on a stunning display of a motor sport new to this country called drag racing. Using his considerable influence with the traditionalist organisations that controlled motor racing, Sydney Allard was the man who made the 1st British International Drag Festival happen.
It is virtually impossible for me to convey the raw emotions generated by what happened at Blackbushe to anyone who was not there on that day; over four decades later just writing about the experience still brings a lump to my throat. My friends and I were used to driving old, beat-up, four-cylinder cars that struggled to reach 60mph, so try to imagine what it was like for us to see and hear a supercharged V8-powered dragster reach nearly 200mph in eight seconds leaving tyre smoke billowing over an entire quarter of mile for the very first time - I can tell you, it was absolutely mind blowing!
I immediately became heavily involved with drag racing and this eventually led to me giving up a career as a project engineer to earn my living writing about cars, a decision I have never regretted. So, as you can see, if Allard hadn't promoted drag racing I would still be trapped in a company office instead of enjoying myself messing around with old vehicles all the time. However, it was quite some while before I began to fully appreciate the amazing variety of motorsport successes that Sydney Allard had managed to accumulate during an astonishing life. Thanks to his rare combination of engineering and driving expertise, Allard's achievements included setting new standards of performance in rugged pre-war off-road events and racing at Brooklands then later ranged to coming third in the 1950 Le Mans 24-Hour Race and winning the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally, plus setting records at hill climbs and sprints, taking innumerable circuit victories and much, much more. And all of this was with cars that were designed and built in the Allard workshop.
From the very early days Allard's prowess generated requests for replica cars to be built, and this developed into a sizeable business. Classic models like the J2 and J2X sports competition two-seaters, the L tourer, M coupe and the P1 saloon featured solid chassis engineering, American V8 engines and distinctive styling. These cars all sold in reasonable quantities, being exported to many countries around the globe.
As contemporary results show, for a few short post-war years an Allard was so often the car to beat and the fact that many of them still survive is a testimony to this winning reputation. But times move on, and by the mid-1950s Allard was finding it increasing difficult to keep up with the ever more sophisticated products of larger rival manufacturers. The writing was on the wall and, after a couple of years of only building cars to order, in 1959 Allard finally pulled out of the motor manufacturing industry. From then on the firm concentrated on supplying race and rally equipment, engine tuning, superchargers and drag racing components.
Amongst all his successes Sydney Allard occasionally got it spectacularly wrong. The disastrously conceived and ill-timed original Allardette of 1958, the poorly thought out Clipper three-wheeler rear wheel and the Atom midget dirt track racer - it is perhaps significant that none of these projects involved Sydney's prime interest of high performance motoring and thus they were almost inevitably doomed to failure.
Sydney Allard died in April 1966 leaving behind a motorsport legacy that few men can ever hope to equal. Sadly, I was never able to meet Sydney Allard and thank him in person for transforming my life. However, talking to people who knew and raced against him I discovered that everyone admired the fearless determination he demonstrated whenever he was behind the wheel of any vehicle that had his name on it. Allard was a winner who built some marvellous machinery and he will always be remembered for that.
Tony Beadle
