How about a British sports car with a brawny American V8, built in south London more than a decade before anyone had even heard of the AC Cobra? Retro Motor readers, meet the Allard K2.
This particular Allard has spent the past 10 years being driven and raced, rather than polished and put on a pedestal. Now up for online auction with Trade Classics, it could be yours.
So, what exactly is an Allard? Well, long before Carroll Shelby dropped a Ford V8 into the AC Ace, a motor trader from Clapham had already figured out the potential of this recipe. In the 1930s, Sydney Allard created his first ‘trials special’ around a Ford flathead V8. After the war in 1945, he then founded the Allard Motor Company to build the same in (slightly) larger numbers.
The formula was simple: a big, lazy V8 in a light chassis, dressed in an aluminium sports car body. And it worked. In 1950, Allard co-drove a J2 to third place overall at Le Mans, while in 1952 he won the Monte Carlo Rally in one of his P1 saloons.
His cars had a habit of attracting talent, too. Zora Arkus-Duntov, later known as the father of the Chevrolet Corvette, worked for Allard between 1950 and 1952, while the young Carroll Shelby raced J2s in the early 1950s. Make of that what you will…
How about the Allard K2?
If the J2 was Allard’s hairy-chested racing car, the K-series was its road-going sibling: still light and V8-powered, but civilised enough for a long weekend away. The K2 replaced the K1 in 1950 and stayed in production until 1952. Around 119 cars were made. The Allard Register counts 117, of which it believes 87 survive.
The K2 introduced a smoother, better-finished aluminium body, the famous pentagonal grille and three portholes along each side of the bonnet. The latter was a Buick-style touch aimed squarely at American buyers. Underneath sat a divided front axle on coil springs and a live rear axle using a transverse leaf spring. A de Dion rear end was optional, although only a handful of buyers ticked the box.
Engines depended on where you lived. British cars got Ford 3.6- or Mercury 3.9-litre flathead V8s, while many US-bound Allards were shipped without engines then fitted with local Cadillac or Chrysler V8s. Without fluids, a K2 weighs approximately 1,090kg.
Driven on the road and raced
This 1951 Allard K2 wears factory-recorded Pacific Green green paint. It’s matched with a green interior, black tonneau and silver-painted steel wheels. The car spent around 30 years in Australia before returning to the UK in 2014, then the current owner bought it a year later. It has since taken part in hill climbs, club runs and plenty of happy road miles.
Under the bonnet is a correct-type replacement 3,917cc, 21-stud Ford flathead V8 on twin carburettors, reportedly sourced through Daryl Allard. It had covered about 2,000 miles before fitting, and has only added a few thousand more since its overhaul.
The original three-speed transmission has made way for a four-speed Moss manual ’box, converted by Just Historic, with paperwork showing around £12,000 spent. Purists may wince, but that extra ratio makes a lot of sense on a hill climb or a long A-road. The interior has been retrimmed, although the carpet around the modified transmission tunnel needs finishing.
The patina of a life well-lived
This K2 isn’t perfect, and it doesn’t pretend to be. Its paint is patinated with chips, scuffs and traces of old competition markings. The protective panels over the rear wings are dulled, the bonnet strap is tired and the brightwork has lost some of its shine. The shallow split windscreen, happily, is in good order.
Blockley block-pattern tyres and brake drums are fitted at all four corners, while the brake master cylinder has recently been replaced.
Videos on the Trade Classics website show the car firing from cold, reaching a healthy oil pressure and idling steadily. The owner describes it as a rewarding but physical drive, and sensibly suggests having the steering, suspension and brakes checked before any further motorsport use.
What is an Allard K2 worth?
Most K2s change hands in America, which makes price comparisons tricky. RM Sotheby’s sold a red, Cadillac-engined 1951 car at Monterey in August 2024 for $78,400 (£59,350 today), a 1951 K2 made $50,400 (£38,150) at Broad Arrow’s Monterey sale a year later, and Bring a Trailer sold a 1952 example for $62,000 (£46,950) in May 2026.
The UK market picture is more muddied, but prices have likely cooled since Bonhams achieved $93,500 (£70,800) for a K2 at Amelia Island in 2016.
This car is a usable classic rather than a concours queen, with a replacement engine and non-original gearbox. That said, it has the correct-type flathead V8 rather than a transplanted Cadillac engine, and recently received £12,000 of transmission work. It has also proven itself on the road and at various hill climbs.
Eager to bid on this Allard K2?
Few cars have a story that runs from a London workshop to a Le Mans podium, with the AC Cobra and the Chevrolet Corvette as footnotes. Fewer still have been used as their maker intended.
The online auction for this Allard K2 ends on 22 October 2026. Get bidding on the Trade Classics websiteif you’re tempted by a British sports car with a difference.
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