Run Rabbit Run
1934 Alvis Speed 20 SB "flat-back" two-door saloon by Vanden Plas
The SB launched at the October 1933 London Motor Show had a new cruciform braced chassis, slightly longer at 124 in (3,150 mm), with independent front suspension using a single transverse leaf spring with a long solid anchorage in the center. Steering was improved using new designs employed for racing Alvis cars since 1925. Road shocks were not transmitted from one wheel to the other nor did they affect the steering wheel and the gyroscopic effect was eliminated. Rear springs damped by Hartford Telecontrol dampers are long and underslung. The engine remained the same but the new all-silent gearbox, the first of its type, gained synchromesh on the bottom gear as well and was mounted separately from the engine. A built-in jacking system was fitted as standard.
As with the SA, a wide range of bodies were fitted to the cars. Large Lucas 12 in (305 mm) P100 headlamps became standard, adding to the sporting appearance of the car.
The SB retained the lightness of the SA and was therefore able to retain the same power unit; later models became heavier and required larger engines. Of the 375 SB units manufactured, only 36 Vanden Plas Coupés were made.
A close-coupled, Four Light design with notably slim A-, B- and C-Pillars, the ‘Flatback’ also sported a distinctive swage line that accentuated its airy glasshouse and ‘letter box’ rear window. A spectacular exemplar of the ‘airline’ styling trend which captivated the automotive industry on both sides of the Atlantic during the mid-1930s, the Speed 20 SB ‘Flatback’ is arguably the best-looking enclosed Alvis ever made. Indeed, for many its desirability is second only to that of the (again) Vanden Plas-bodied 4.3 Litre Short Chassis Tourers. Often finished in two-tone liveries, the four-seater sported extravagantly peaked, full flowing wings as well as a louvred scuttle and external fuel filler neck. Long prized by collectors for being among the most elegant pre-WW2 Saloons, only eight of the thirty-six Speed 20 SB ‘Flatbacks’ made are known to have survived to the present day. Interestingly, the last one to go under the hammer fetched $198,000.
Run Rabbit Run
1934 Alvis Speed 20 SB "flat-back" two-door saloon by Vanden Plas
The SB launched at the October 1933 London Motor Show had a new cruciform braced chassis, slightly longer at 124 in (3,150 mm), with independent front suspension using a single transverse leaf spring with a long solid anchorage in the center. Steering was improved using new designs employed for racing Alvis cars since 1925. Road shocks were not transmitted from one wheel to the other nor did they affect the steering wheel and the gyroscopic effect was eliminated. Rear springs damped by Hartford Telecontrol dampers are long and underslung. The engine remained the same but the new all-silent gearbox, the first of its type, gained synchromesh on the bottom gear as well and was mounted separately from the engine. A built-in jacking system was fitted as standard.
As with the SA, a wide range of bodies were fitted to the cars. Large Lucas 12 in (305 mm) P100 headlamps became standard, adding to the sporting appearance of the car.
The SB retained the lightness of the SA and was therefore able to retain the same power unit; later models became heavier and required larger engines. Of the 375 SB units manufactured, only 36 Vanden Plas Coupés were made.
A close-coupled, Four Light design with notably slim A-, B- and C-Pillars, the ‘Flatback’ also sported a distinctive swage line that accentuated its airy glasshouse and ‘letter box’ rear window. A spectacular exemplar of the ‘airline’ styling trend which captivated the automotive industry on both sides of the Atlantic during the mid-1930s, the Speed 20 SB ‘Flatback’ is arguably the best-looking enclosed Alvis ever made. Indeed, for many its desirability is second only to that of the (again) Vanden Plas-bodied 4.3 Litre Short Chassis Tourers. Often finished in two-tone liveries, the four-seater sported extravagantly peaked, full flowing wings as well as a louvred scuttle and external fuel filler neck. Long prized by collectors for being among the most elegant pre-WW2 Saloons, only eight of the thirty-six Speed 20 SB ‘Flatbacks’ made are known to have survived to the present day. Interestingly, the last one to go under the hammer fetched $198,000.