Allard - Decline

Decline

Allard R&D failed to keep up its former pace and other manufacturers began producing cheaper and more technically advanced cars. Its new Palm Beach model was a year later than its competitors, the beautiful new K-3 failed to live up to expectations, and the large wood sided Safari Estate could not find a market in spite of its eight seats, huge V8, and beautiful bodywork.

By the mid-fifties Allard was struggling. Its attempt to give Dodge dealers a Corvette competitor in a rebodied Palm Beach with a Dodge Hemi engine ran into a late-'50s US recession. Few Allards were produced after 1959, and those only to special order.

Sixties Allards were simply performance-modified British Ford Anglias marketed as the Allardette 105, 109, and 116. Production ended in 1966 when Sydney Allard died and a fire destroyed the factory and most Allard company records the same night.

The Allard name was bought by a new company in 1991 but production never started. In 1994 a new version of the J2 was made by Allard Replicas of Harpenden, Hertfordshire in either kit or assembled versions with full agreement with the trademark holders. Production ceased in 1997.

A new version of the J2X, the J2X MkII, was displayed at the LA 2009 Auto Show. It is currently being produced in Montreal, Canada, and upper New York state, USA.

The Allard factory site now houses Allard Gardens, a 26 unit luxury co-op.