Coventry-based Alvis was the British pioneer of the innovative front-wheel-drive (FWD) racing car and the company were the first to introduce the model in Europe. 

Presented to the media in spring 1925, just over 150 examples are thought to have been produced but only about 35 survive. This car is a 12/75 Ulster and has a supercharged engine with an output of 75 bhp which gives a phenomenal performance for a 1.5-litre car.

The Alvis FWD had a number of novel features including a back-to-front mounted engine, on-board mounted brakes either side of the differential (similar to modern day Grand Prix car) and this car also has a chassis and panels made of lightweight Duralumin - an early aluminium-copper alloy.

This car was an Alvis works team entrant for owner Thomas George (T. G.) John, along with 4 other cars, for the 1928 Tourist Trophy (TT) race at the Ards Circuit in Belfast. Driven by Leon Cushman it is famous for coming second, just 13 seconds behind Kaye Don’s Lea Francis. There was even a rumour that the Alvis had won but for a timekeeper’s error! The car was eventually owned by racing driver and collector Diana Russell who generously donated it to the Museum in 2002.