Using a crashed Ford V-8 coupe onto which he had grafted the body from a Grand Prix Bugatti, racing driver 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 V-8 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.

Introduced in 1946, the L-Type employed Allard’s trademark independently suspended ‘split’ front axle and transverse-leaf rear end in a chassis 6” longer than that of the contemporary K-Type, the extra length being used to accommodate two rear passenger seats.

Like the vast majority of production Allards, the L-Type used Ford/Mercury components, these being readily obtainable from Ford in the UK, the choice of engines being the 221ci Ford or modified 239ci Mercury V-8.

A mere 191 examples were pro...