Alvis quietly added a 3.5-litre version in August 1935 and renamed it the Speed 25 just twelve months later.
Lead trim: Speed 20 SA 2,511 cc six (87 bhp, 1932–1933) · up to 102 hp
Alvis Speed 20 SA–SD and 3½-litreSA-SD · 1932–1936
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Alvis Speed 20 SA–SD and 3½-litre yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactAlvis quietly added a 3.5-litre version in August 1935 and renamed it the Speed 25 just twelve months later.
The Alvis Speed 20 is a British touring car made between late 1931 and 1936 by the Alvis Car and Engineering Company in Coventry (1,165 made), in four variants coded SA to SD, the successor to the Silver Eagle. The SA's engine was a heavily modified version of the Silver Eagle's, producing 87 bhp (65 kW) from 2,511 cc with triple SU carburettors, in a new "double drop" chassis with a centralised lubrication system, half-elliptic springs and mechanical self-servo brakes with 14 in drums (about 400 SAs were made); standard bodies were a four-door sports saloon (Charlesworth) and a four-seater sports coupé or four-door tourer (Cross & Ellis), with chassis bodied by Vanden Plas and others. The SB launched at the October 1933 London Motor Show with a new cruciform-braced chassis 124 in long, independent front suspension by a transverse leaf spring and the first all-silent gearbox with synchromesh on all gears (95 bhp at 4,000 rpm); the SC of 1935 grew to 2,762 cc by a 110 mm stroke, and the 1936 SD had a larger fuel tank and slightly wider bodywork (130 in wheelbase optional). On 30 August 1935 Alvis added a 3½-litre 102 hp engine (3,571 cc, 102 bhp at 3,600 rpm), named 3½-litre SA and renamed Speed 25 twelve months later with seven main bearings. Wheelbase 123 in (SA) to 124 in (SB–SD), width 65-66.5 in, kerb weight 3,528 lb for the four-door sports saloon.
Collectors Spotted in the Alvis Speed 20 Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Alvis Speed 20 yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
4 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3½-litre 3,571 cc six (102 bhp, 1935–1936) | 1935–1936 | 3.6 L Inline-6 | 102 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Speed 20 SA 2,511 cc six (87 bhp, 1932–1933) | 1932–1933 | 2.5 L Inline-6 | 87 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Speed 20 SB 2,511 cc six (95 bhp, 1933–1935) | 1933–1935 | 2.5 L Inline-6 | 95 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
| Speed 20 SC / SD 2,762 cc six (1935–1936) | 1935–1936 | 2.8 L Inline-6 | — | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
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Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
The long-wheelbase XFL version of this XF, built for China and shown at Beijing in 2016, was the first aluminum-bodied car ever built in China.
A four-door saloon beat Jaguar's supercar record: a modified XFR hit 225.675mph at Bonneville in 2008, topping the XJ220's own 217.1mph mark from 1992.
When this Alvis flagship debuted, the motoring press couldn't get over its face, describing it as having "a most imposing front with very large headlamps, fog and pass lights, and post horns."
The Alvis Speed 25 is the only car to ever win the VSCC Oxford Concours' Ladies Choice prize two years running — a rare testament to how well its styling held up.