In The UK, A Unique Prototype Allard P4, Which Was Formerly A Lexus, Was Put Up For Auction

2023 Author: Natalie MacDonald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-26 13:59

The Allard P4 sedan is up for sale at Classic Cars in the UK - one of three ever built and the only one to survive. The sedan is the latest reminder of the attempt to revive the British Allard brand with the participation of Toyota.

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• The Allard Motor Company officially existed from 1945 to 1958 and specialized in sports cars with light chassis and powerful motors (mostly of American origin). Among the owners of cars of the Allard brand of that time, for example, Carroll Shelby and the creator of the first Chevrolet Corvette Zora Arkus-Dantov are called.
• Engineer Chris Humberston, who participated in the creation of Formula 1 cars, and also worked for Lotus and Benetton, tried to revive the brand in the late 80s. He licensed the brand to be used in endurance racing, and in the early 90s the company began to think about building road cars. The result was an experiment on the production of Lexus LS400 sedans with a modified appearance under the Allard brand. Only three prototypes were built, which their creators showed to Toyot representatives in the hope of gaining support. However, the alliance never took shape.

• Auctioneers claim that the only existing Allard P4 is up for sale - the other two allegedly died in accidents. It differs from the usual Lexus LS400 in a modified body design (only the body panels have been modified, the power structure has not been touched) and an "altered" interior. The engine, according to the seller, also did not undergo changes - it is the 4.0-liter V8 standard for Lexus sedans of that time. True, it is noted that the car stood motionless for several years, so the motor will require additional maintenance.
• The price of the rarest prototype has not been specified. Meanwhile, in the spring of 2017, a mention of the same car appeared on the Bring and Trailer site, which was resold on eBay for only 10 thousand pounds (just over a million rubles at the current exchange rate).
• Genuine Lexus models are often much more expensive. For example, in January last year, the first copy of the LC 500 convertible went under the hammer, for which they immediately paid $ 2 million.