The Grey Lady's name came with a promise -- Alvis guaranteed 100 mph from this 1953 model, squeezed out by raising the compression ratio and improving the exhaust.
Median 75 hp across 26 similar cars
Lead trim: TC 21/100 Grey Lady 2993 cc twin-SU six (8:1)
Alvis Three Litre TC 21/100 Grey LadyTC 21/100 · 1953–1955
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Alvis Three Litre TC 21/100 Grey Lady 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.
FactThe Grey Lady's name came with a promise -- Alvis guaranteed 100 mph from this 1953 model, squeezed out by raising the compression ratio and improving the exhaust.
The TC.21/100 or Grey Lady, announced on 20 October 1953, came with a guaranteed 100 mph top speed thanks to an improved exhaust system and a compression ratio raised from 7:1 to 8:1 to take advantage of newly restored higher-octane petrol; the final drive ratio was raised from 4.09:1 to 3.77:1, a paired front fog lamp and driving lamp became standard, the bonnet gained air scoops and wire wheels were standard to try to enliven the car's image; a heater was standard and a radio an expensive option. Saloon and drophead coupé versions were offered. A 1954 Motor test of a saloon recorded 100.1 mph and 0-60 mph in 15.4 seconds (fuel consumption 20.6 mpg, test-car price £1,821); in July 1955 The Times' motoring correspondent, under the headline "Few Concessions to Fashion Trends", observed that it had become one of the few British cars that did not look American. It used the TC 21's 2,993 cc six (100 bhp) on a 111.5 in wheelbase.
Collectors Spotted in the Alvis Three Litre Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Alvis Three Litre yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
One published trim in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TC 21/100 Grey Lady 2993 cc twin-SU six (8:1) | 1953–1955 | 3.0 L Inline-6 | 100 hp | — | — | RWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
This was the last car Alvis ever built. After nearly 50 years making cars in Coventry, the company closed out production with the TF21.
Spot the stacked lights: this Alvis wore its twin headlights mounted one above the other, a Graber-styled, Mulliner Park Ward-built body unlike anything else Alvis made.
This Series II TD21 switched its door frames to aluminium mid-production — a fix for persistent problems with the wooden door pillar Park Ward had been using.
Alvis didn't build the TD21's body itself, it handed the job to coachbuilder Park Ward, who could supply bodies at the quantity, quality and price Alvis needed.
When The Times road-tested the Alvis TC 21/100 'Grey Lady' in 1955, the reviewer singled it out as one of the few British cars that didn't ape American styling.
The Grey Lady's name came with a promise -- Alvis guaranteed 100 mph from this 1953 model, squeezed out by raising the compression ratio and improving the exhaust.
The TA 21's new three-litre six hid an odd trick: its timing gears sat at the REAR of the block, not the front, paired with a 7-bearing crank for smoothness.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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To drum up buzz at launch, Simca briefly swapped 50 of its Paris taxi fleet's Ariane sedans for tiny new 1000s, making the little car a familiar sight on the capital's streets.
The PL 17's name is a sum: 5 fiscal horsepower, 6 seats, 6 litres per 100 km, kept a digit below the Citroën DS 19's.
The humble Tagora spawned a one-off concept, the Présidence, decked out with Connolly leather and electronics way ahead of 1981 — a built-in telephone, dictaphone, text-message receiver and a TV with VCR.
Talbot fed the Tagora's V6 old-fashioned triple carburettors instead of fuel injection — and the extra power briefly made it the most powerful French car on sale. Only 1,083 were ever built.
Switching the 96 from a two-stroke to a Ford V4 was such a closely guarded secret that Saab invented a fake company, Maskinverktyg AB, just to buy the new engine's parts without its own purchasing department finding out.