Alvis Car And Engineering

Alvis Speed 25

The Alvis 4.3-litre and Alvis Speed 25 were British luxury touring cars announced in August 1936 and made until 1940 by Alvis Car and Engineering Company in Coventry. They replaced the Alvis Speed 20 2.8-litre and 3.5-litre.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Alvis Speed 20

All Alvis Car And Engineering Speed 25 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

New engines

The Speed Twenty’s 2.5-litre, 2.8-litre or 3.5-litre engines with four main bearings were replaced in the 4.3-litre and 3.5-litre Speed Twenty-Five with a strengthened newly designed six-cylinder in-line unit now with seven main bearings.

Coachwork

Alvis did not make any of the bodies for the Speed 25. The cars were supplied in chassis form and firms such as Cross & Ellis (standard tourer) Charlesworth (standard saloon and Drop Head Coupé) as well as Vanden Plas, Lancefield, Offord and others would fit open touring or saloon car bodies. The car was built on a heavy steel chassis with a substantial cross brace. With its sporty low slung aspect, all-synchro gearbox, independent front suspension and servo-assisted brakes, this was a fast, reliable and beautifully made car, although at almost £1000 it was not cheap. The survival rate for what was after all a hand-built car is surprisingly good. Later models featured increased chassis boxing, and to reduce the car’s weight Alvis cut numerous holes in the chassis box sections, which was also a solution tried less successfully earlier in the decade by Mercedes-Benz when confronting the same challenge with their enormously heavy Mercedes-Benz SSKL. Minor improvements Minor improvements to both cars announced at the October 1938 Motor Show included a dual exhaust system said to quieten the engine and improve power output. From the show the press reported the 4.3-litre four-door sports saloon to have "a most imposing front with very large headlamps, fog and pass lights, and post horns." There were to be only detail changes for 1940

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: Alvis 4.3-litre
Manufacturer: Alvis
Production: 198 built
Model years: 1937 to 1940
Class: Full-size luxury car (F)
Body style: 4-door sports saloon, chassis only also supplied
Layout: front-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Related: Alvis Speed 25 3.5-litre
Engine: 4387 cc, 92 x 110 mm, Straight-6, Petrol, 137 bhp @3,600 rpm, 31.48 tax horsepower
Transmission: single plate clutch, separate 4-speed gearbox all-silent and all-synchromesh, centre change lever, open tubular propeller shaft with metal joints (arranged in a straight line), spiral bevel fully floating back axle
Wheelbase: 127 in, track 56 in
Length: 191 in
Width: 70 in
Kerb weight: 4144 lb
sp: uk

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4738296CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvis_Speed_25CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1373789627 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1937_Alvis_Speed_25_(21869462721).jpgCC BY 2.0 · Photo: Jeremy from Sydney, Australia · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.