Alvis Speed 20 SD

About the Alvis Speed 20 SD

The Alvis Speed 20 was a British touring car made between 1932 and 1936 by Alvis Ltd in Coventry. It went through four variants coded SA to SD.The engine for the Speed 20 was a heavily modified version of the one used in the preceding Silver Eagle cars, producing 87 bhp (65 kW).Triple SU carburettors were fitted. The chassis was new and lowered by making it a "double drop" type where the side rails go over the front and rear axles. A centralised lubrication system was fitted allowing oil to be provided to moving suspension parts through a maze of pipework. Both front and rear suspension used half-elliptic leaf springs and the brakes with 14 in (356 mm) drums, mechanically operated. The four-speed manual gearbox was mounted in-unit with the engine.

The car could be fitted with a variety of coachwork. Standard bodies were a four-door saloon from coachbuilders Charlesworth or four-door tourer by Cross and Ellis, but some cars were supplied in chassis form and carried bodies by coachbuilders such as Vanden Plas. The particular saloon car in the photograph was bodied by William Arnold of Manchester..