barrett's #122 - Solved - Alvis Fourteen by F.J Bidée, c.1947

[barrett]

A bit of a mystery this one. I've seen this appear in several publications over the years, and no one is quite sure what exactly it is! I know the marque of the base car, and I have an idea about who built the body, but perhaps one of our members can clear this one up for good?

[barrett]

Any experts know the full story?

[barrett]

Pros should put this one to bed quickly

[João]

AP Metalcraft produced a sporting twin carb TB14 version for the 1948 London Motor Show. It was a brave attempt at something modern, but somewhat shown up by the Jaguar XK120 which debuted at the same show. Willowbrook built the controversial design which was based on the work of the Belgian coachbuilder F.J. Bidée. Alvis did not like the ommission of a traditional grille and the TB14 sold just 100.

[barrett]

Great answer, and I assume you are probably correct, but I was under the impression this car was actually bodied by Bidée himself, as it wears Belgian plates.
I'll leave this here for a while to see if anyone can shed anymore light on this particular car

[João]

Same car,I believe :

[Otto Puzzell]

I'd say similar but different. The puzzle car's front fenders (wings) extend all the way to the rears. On the red car, they do not.

[barrett]

Is there a general consensus as to what should be done with this puzzle?

I'm of the belief that this car was bodied by Bidée in c.1947 but i have no definitive proof. I know we all like concrete evidence here, so should I send this to the black hole and see if anything more is discovered, or move it to solved?

[barrett]

Okay, this tiny blurry shot shows what I believe is the first Alvis chassis clothed by F.J Bidée. I'm sure you'll agree it looks almost identical to the puzzle car, I think this is proof enough.
I'm moving this to solved.