England’s Alvis Car Company is back from the dead after a decades-long hiatus. It recently finished its first postwar continuation car, a gorgeous Graber Super Coupé that took two years to build, and it’s already looking forward to starting on the second car in the series.
Alvis closed in 1967, but enthusiast Alan Stote has been painstakingly resurrecting it using over 20,000 original drawings and a huge stock of new-old-stock parts that were built as spares and never used, according to Hagerty. Bodies are made in-house, and outside companies manufacture parts that are no longer available. It’s this attention to detail that partially explains why making the first Graber took two years.
While the aluminum-bodied coupe looks just like the original when viewed from the outside, including the beautiful proportions and design details such as the chromed hood scoop, several parts underneath have been updated in the name of safety and comfort. For example, Alvis added fuel injection to bump the 3.0-liter straight-six’s output to about 172 horsepower and 209 pound-feet of torque; that’s around 42 horses more than the 1960s model. Seatbelts and a collapsible steering column are standard as well, and air conditioning is available.
Alvis invites buyers to customize the cabin, either by choosing an existing livery from period brochures or by starting from scratch and creating their own. The person who purchased the first Graber chose brown leather, brown carpet, and a wood-rimmed steering wheel, among other options. While some modifications are made in the name of modernity, the instrument cluster keeps its analog gauges.
Want one? We suggest getting in line, because Alvis only builds cars to order. The first Graber will be shipped to a customer in Japan before the end of 2021, and the British firm has already started manufacturing its second postwar continuation car — a Graber convertible — also ordered by a Japanese buyer. Pricing starts at £323,000, which represents approximately $443,000 at the current conversion rate.