Thomas George John founded the company in Coventry in 1919, and the first Alvis, the 10/30, appeared in 1920 from works on Holyhead Road. The 12/50 that followed was built until 1932 and became one of the best-loved British sports cars of the vintage era, and in the 1930s Alvis moved upmarket with fast, elegant cars such as the Speed 20 and Speed 25.
On 14 November 1940 the Coventry car factory was badly damaged in the bombing raids on the city, and car production did not restart until 1946. After the war Alvis built the TA 14 and TA 21, followed by the Graber-styled TD 21, TE 21 and TF 21 saloons and dropheads, while the company increasingly depended on aero engines such as the Leonides and on military vehicles like the Saladin armoured car and Stalwart amphibious truck.
Rover took a controlling interest in 1965, and car production ended in 1967 after just 106 TF 21s had been built. The Alvis name continued on military vehicles for decades. In 2009 the trademark and archive passed to Red Triangle, whose Alvis Car Company in Kenilworth has built continuation versions of classic Alvis models since 2010.
