[citation needed] Before the war, Allard supplied some replicas of a Bugatti-tailed special of his own design from Adlards Motors in Putney.

[1] Allards featured large American V8 engines in a light British chassis and body, giving a high power-to-weight ratio and foreshadowing the Sunbeam Tiger and AC Cobra of the early 1960s.

Cobra designer Carroll Shelby and Chevrolet Corvette chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov both drove Allards in the early 1950s.

Allard's brother, Leslie, was a customer, while racer Ken Hutchinson purchased a 4.4-litre (270 cu in) Lincoln-Zephyr V12-powered version.

[2] It led to the pair forming a team, dubbed Tail Waggers, to race the car, which proved quite successful, including setting a new record at the Prescott hillclimb.

Sydney Allard's planned volume production was pre-empted by work on Ford-based trucks during the conflict.

[4] Using its inventory of easy-to-service Ford mechanicals built up during World War II and bodywork of Allard's own design, three post-war models were introduced with a newly designed steel chassis and lightweight body shells: the J, a competition sports car; the K, a slightly larger car intended for road use, and the four seater L. All three were based on the Ford Pilot chassis and powered by a fairly stock 85 hp (63 kW; 86 PS) 3,622 cc (221.0 cu in) sidevalve V8 with a single carburettor and 6:1 compression, driving a three-speed transmission and low-geared rearend, for superior acceleration.

[4] Powered by a 140 hp (100 kW; 140 PS) 3,917 cc (239.0 cu in) overhead valve Mercury V8, the J1 had a top speed of 85 mph (137 km/h), limited by the low rear axle gearing.

[4] Imhof won the 1947 Lisbon Rally in a J1 powered by a Marshall-supercharged version, while Leonard Potter took the Coupe des Alpes that year.

[4] Sydney Allard soon saw the potential of the economically more vibrant – but sports car starved – U.S. market and developed a special competition model to tap it, the J2.

The new roadster, weighing just 2,072 pounds (940 kg),[5] was a potent combination of a lightweight, hand-formed aluminium body fitted with new coil spring[4] front suspension, fitted with inclined telescopic dampers,[6][7] and de Dion-type rear axle,[3] inboard rear brakes, and 110 hp (82 kW), 267 cu in (4,375 cc) Mercury flathead V8, with the option of an Ardun hemi conversion.

In that form, the J2 proved a highly competitive international race car for 1950, most frequently powered by 331 cu in (5.4 L) Cadillac engines.

[8] Available both in street trim and stripped down for racing, the J2 proved successful in competition on both sides of the Atlantic, including a third place overall at Le Mans in 1950 (co-driven by Tom Cole and Allard himself[5]) at an average 87.74 mph (141.20 km/h), powered by a Cadillac V8.

[citation needed] Arriving later, during a time when sports racing car design was developing rapidly, the J2X was not as successful in international racing as the J2, as it was not as competitive compared to more advanced C- and D-type Jaguars, alongside Mercedes, Ferrari, and Maserati works entries.

This 1953 car was a lightweight specialist racer, powered by a Cadillac engine claimed to produce 300 hp (220 kW; 300 PS).

Built from 1946 to 1948, the K1 used a 106 in (2,700 mm) wheelbase and was powered by a tuned version of the 221 cu in (3,622 cc) V8, with 7:1 compression, producing 95 hp (71 kW; 96 PS).

Side rails and cross members were designed to fit the Allard trailing link, transverse leaf independent front suspension and live rear axle.

[14][15] Essentially an up-enginged, rebodied Palm Beach, it failed to find a niche in either market in spite of its performance.

[13] It utilised a wood frame with aluminium panels on a 112-inch wheelbase and was offered with 3.6-litre Ford Pilot V8 and 4.4-litre Mercury V8 engines.

Short of money, Humberstone allegedly attempted to work a deal with Toyota, which would have seen examples of the first-generation Lexus LS400 be rebadged and sold as Allards to help build attention and capital for the J2X-C racer.

According to sources from the time, the deal between Allard and Toyota was allegedly proceeding well, but fizzled and ultimately fell flat for unknown reasons.

Still, Allard designers tried to make it somewhat different thanks to a revised front and rear fascia, basketweave wheels, and a red and black interior.

The Palm Beach was essentially a year behind its competitors, the K3 failed to live up to expectations, and the Safari Estate could not find a market.

By the mid-1950s Allard was struggling to remain solvent, and with the market weak due to a late-1950s US recession, the company went into administration in 1957, when manufacture of cars came to an end.

[9] In 1961, the company offered a dragster, the Dragon, powered by a Shorrock-supercharged 1.5 liter Ford, and was distributor of the superchargers, later also taking over production of them.