1952 | Allard J2X

One of two Works cars built for the 1952 Le Mans 24 Hours

Raced by Sydney Allard and Jack Fairman

One owner for more than 50 years and extremely original

Eligible for Goodwood Revival and Le Mans Classic

Allard was one of many British marques that punched above their weight in the years following World War Two. Founded by Sydney Allard and based in south-west London, its cars were powered by robust American V8 engines, and not only did Allard finish third overall at Le Mans in 1950, it won the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally – not to mention picking up numerous victories in races around the world.

This well-known and hugely significant Allard J2X – chassis number 3055 – was built in January 1952. Introduced late the previous year, the J2X was based on the chassis of the J2 that preceded it, and which had enjoyed great competition success using a variety of engines. This latest model featured redesigned front suspension in an attempt to improve the handling, and the engine was mounted further forward in the frame. 

The Automobile Club de l’Ouest had introduced a new rule for Le Mans in 1952, banning the sort of cycle-wing bodywork that Allard had used previously. It therefore came up with a new all-enveloping body for ‘3055’, as well as for a second J2X that would be entered at Le Mans for drivers Zora Arkus-Duntov and Frank Curtis. 

Both cars were fitted with a 5.4-litre Chrysler V8 engine and made their debut in a sports car race at Silverstone in May 1952, but Sydney Allard retired in ‘3055’ and Curtis spun off. Before heading to Le Mans the following month, the three-speed gearboxes in both cars were replaced with four-speed units, and while the Curtis entry was taken to France in a transporter, ‘3055’ was driven there on the road. 

The team based itself at the Hotel Ricourdeau in Loué, about 20 miles west of the circuit, and during practice it experimented with a pioneering radio-controlled system in which the team could communicate with the driver via three warning lights in the cockpit. Allard would go on to use a full ‘radio telephone’ set-up the following year.

In the race itself, ‘3055’ was shared by Sydney Allard and established racer Jack Fairman, who did the opening stint. A quick, steady pair of hands who was ideal for Le Mans, Fairman came in at 7pm to hand over to Allard, and the combination of powerful V8 engine and new bodywork was proving to be highly effective – ‘3055’ was timed at more than 150mph on the Mulsanne Straight. 

As darkness fell, the drivers had to contend with a thickening mist around the circuit, but the car ran like clockwork through the night. By 4am, when Allard made a routine pitstop to hand over to Fairman, ‘3055’ had risen to sixth place overall. An hour later, it was running fifth, behind only the leading Talbot-Lago of Pierre Levegh, the two works Mercedes W194s, and the factory Aston Martin of Peter Collins and Lance Macklin.

Shortly afterwards, however, Fairman stopped at the pits and reported that the engine was running poorly. Allard took over but limped back some time later with the big-end bearings ‘knocking like hammers’. The car was retired, and the second entry of Duntov and Curtis dropped out just after 6am.

Once back at the Allard factory, the damaged engine was replaced with a Cadillac V8 and ‘3055’ was sold to American racer Paul Pfohl, who was based in Buffalo, NY. The Allard arrived in the US in January 1953, and it’s thought that Pfohl did four events with it – winning them all, including the Holland Hillclimb.

Pfohl bought a Jaguar D-type in early 1956, but the Allard was put into storage and Pfohl kept it for more than 50 years until he passed away. It was then sold to a UK-based owner and prepared for competition use. In 2014, ‘3055’ duly returned to La Sarthe to take part in the Le Mans Classic. It also competed in the following year’s Le Mans Legends race.

The car then passed to a marque enthusiast who has raced the Allard-based Farallac for many years. A rarity amongst 1950s sports-racing cars, ‘3055’ remains in extremely original condition, the majority of its c4000 recorded miles having been covered while racing in period. The bodywork has been resprayed to match a section of the original paint that was found in one of the door panels, the system of warning lights that was used at Le Mans in 1952 is still fitted, and throughout the car there are details that match perfectly with photographs from that race. 

The current owner has overhauled and installed a Chrysler engine to the correct 1952 specification which produces 417bhp, courtesy of four twin-choke Rochester carburettors. What is believed to be the original Chrysler engine that failed at Le Mans was shipped to Paul Pfohl when he bought ‘3055’ after the race, and it remains with the car to this day along with the Cadillac engine fitted by the factory when the car returned from Le Mans, and a spare gearbox. It is currently fitted with a special three-speed Ford/Lincoln racing gearbox with Jensen remote change, along with a quick-change Halibrand limited-slip differential.

Having been sympathetically maintained by recent owners, this wonderfully charismatic Allard J2X is now being offered for sale with an extensive history file that includes a wealth of period photographs, plus documents and correspondence relating to Pfohl’s purchase of the car. Not only is it a significant car in marque history, it boasts a known, continuous provenance and is eligible for blue-riband events such as the Le Mans Classic and Goodwood Revival. It is also road-registered so, in the finest 1950s tradition, it could be driven to both of those events, giving its next owner a true taste of what Sydney Allard and Jack Fairman experienced back in 1952.