The Alvis Three Litre, TC 21 is an
automobile
A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...
produced by
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
manufacturer
Alvis
Alvis may refer to:
*Alvis Car and Engineering Company, British luxury car and military vehicle manufacturer which later became Alvis plc
* Alvis plc (formerly United Scientific Holdings plc), a defence contractor which acquired Alvis Cars and bec ...
between 1953 and 1955. An updated version of the
Three Litre TA 21, it was available as a 4-door
saloon and, in its later TC 21/100 form, also as a 2-door
drophead coupé
A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving exp ...
.
TC 21
Body
![Alvis TC21 (15733738898)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Alvis_TC21_%2815733738898%29.jpg)
The TC 21 was available as four-door
saloon but, unlike its TA 21 predecessor, no
drophead
A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving expe ...
version was offered.
[Michael Sedgwick & Mark Gillies, A-Z of Cars 1945-1970, Bay View Books Ltd, 1989, pages 16 & 17] The bodies were made for Alvis by
Mulliners (Birmingham)
Mulliners Limited of Birmingham was a British coachbuilding business in Bordesley Green, with factories in Bordesley Green and Cherrywood Roads. It made standard bodies for specialist car manufacturers. In the 19th century there were family ties w ...
. A sunshine roof remained standard as did "separately adjustable front seats; heater and air-conditioning unit; Trico windscreen washers" drawing the comment from
Autocar "In detail fittings . . . this car leaves little to be desired".
Later TC 21s have chromium-plated window frames.
Engine
The 2,993 cc engine was upgraded to produce by modifying the cylinder head and fitting twin
SU carburettors. Suspension was the same as the TA 21, independent at the front using coil springs with leaf springs at the rear. The drum brakes using a Lockheed system were also retained.
However this update found few buyers during a very difficult year for the British Motor Industry and though it remained in the catalogue and continued to be advertised it was in practice replaced by the ''Grey Lady''.
TC.21/100 ''Grey Lady''
The TC.21/100 or Grey Lady announced 20 October 1953 came with a guarantee of a speed of 100 mph resulting from an improved exhaust system and an engine compression ratio raised from 7:1 to 8:1 to take advantage of the availability of better petrol. The final drive ratio was raised from 4.09:1 to 3.77:1.
[ A paired front fog lamp and matching driving lamp became a standard fitting. The bonnet gained air scoops and wire wheels were fitted to try to enliven the car's image. A heater was fitted as standard but a radio remained an expensive option.
Four door saloon and ]drophead coupé
A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving exp ...
versions were offered.[
A saloon version tested by ]The Motor
''The Motor'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine
''Car'' is a British automotive enthusiast magazine published monthly by Bauer Consumer Media. International editions are published by Bauer Automotive in Republi ...
magazine in 1954 had a top speed of and could accelerate from 0- in 15.4 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £1,821 including taxes.
Few concessions to fashion trends
Nevertheless, just 18 months later the Times' Motoring Correspondent tested and reported on the Grey Lady under the headline "Few Concessions to Fashion Trends". His opening gambit was that this Alvis was now one of the few British cars that did not look American and, he said, there was little concession to the cult of streamlining beyond the two air scoops in the bonnet. He wrote that spacious internal headroom and wire wheels completed that picture. It was noted the instruments were not in front of the driver but in the centre of the dashboard (instrument panel) and so the speedometer was apt to be masked by the driver's left hand. However the front seats were comfortable and rear seat passengers received padding on the wheel arches surmounted by armrests. Leather upholstery, pile carpets and walnut facings for the dashboard and lower parts of the window frames completed the traditional picture. He did however say that "the driver who is sensitive to the "feel" of his car will enjoy every moment of his motoring irrespective of the traffic" and reported the car's behaviour on corners was extremely stable though potholes like those caused by recessed manhole covers proved very heavy going for the springing.[Traditional Features Of The Alvis "Grey Lady". ''The Times'', Tuesday, 5 Jul 1955; pg. 5; Issue 53264]
A Graber
Graber (also known as Carrosserie Hermann Graber) was a coachbuilder based in Wichtrach in central Switzerland. Between 1927 and 1970 the firm supplied coach-built bodies for fitting on the chassis of various European and US auto-makers. G ...
-bodied coupe on a TC 21/100 chassis was exhibited at the London Motor Show in October 1955.[Rara Avis, alvisarchive.com]
Retrieved 23 July 2016 The similar TC 108G entered limited production the following year.[
]
References
Further reading
*
* {{cite book, last=Culshaw, first=D, title=Alvis three litre in detail: TA21 to TF21 1950-67, publisher=Herridge and Sons Ltd., location=Beaworthy, Devon, England, year=2003, isbn=978-0-9541063-2-4
TC 21
Cars introduced in 1953
Luxury vehicles