Using a crashed Ford V8 coupe on to which he had grafted the body from a Grand Prix Bugatti, Sydney Allard constructed one of the most unlikely of all pre-war trials specials.

However, the Allard Special's lightweight construction and relatively powerful American V8 engine, although not the first such combination, demonstrated the formula's potential and provided the inspiration for future imitators including Carroll Shelby, who acknowledged Allard's influence on the Cobra.

After WW2, Allard progressed from specials-builder to motor manufacturer, though the latter activity was really little more than a means of financing the company's competition programme.

Despite its small size and limited resources, Allard's achievements were legion in the immediate post-war years, Sydney himself finishing 3rd at the 1950 Le Mans in a J2 sports-racer and winning the Monte Carlo Rally outright in a P1 saloon.

Allard's 3rd place at Le Mans should not be underestimated, for he and co-driver Tom Col...