Alvis Barson Special Straight Eight 1936

1936 Alvis Barson Special Straight Eight

We are pleased to be able to offer this exceptional 1936 Alvis Barson Special number 8. It has a rare 4.4-liter straight V8 Alvis engine. Built on hand-made frame with independent rear suspension. In 1938 a Ford rear axle and an Armstrong Siddeley pre-selector gearbox was fitted. When in 1939 Mr. E Chalenor Barson left South Africa, the car with many spares came with him.

In 1940 he fitted the aforementioned 4.4-liter Alvis engine and replaced the front suspension. Only 2 of these experimental engines were ever made and this is the only running one left!! With a top of over 193 km/hr it was a seriously fast car for its day! Mr. A Kemp, an Alvis engineer, developed the engine in 1934; it had a so-called cluster valve system with 144 valves in all!

Alvis had a tendency to develop experimental cars that were then driven by its directors privately, this is one such car. During the was Mr. Barson sold the car to a RAF pilot and left to fight in Germany. He last saw the car in Bagshot in 1949. In 1954 the records show that the car was registered in Caernarvon, Wales with a MKX 968 number plate.

The one but last owner used the car for Hill-Climbs, being an avid car collector he kept the car for the next 40 years until the mid-nineties. He was also the vice-president of the Aston Martin Owners Club, member of the American Bugatti Club and Vintage Sports Car Club of America.

What we have here is an extremely rare and unique car with a marvelous provenance, of which there is no other one in existence!