The only surviving Allard Lexus LS400 is for sale
The only what now? For a very brief spell the storied Allard name came back on the trunk lid of a coachbuilt Lexus, and the last remaining car is up for auction in the U.K.
In 1993 designer Chris Humberstone and partners Costas Los and Jean-Louis Ricci (racing driver and perfume heir, respectively) had the idea to bring back Allard. They would sell some luxurious road cars and then, as befits the brand, go racing.
The first part of the plan actually happened. Sort of. The Allard P4 was a rebodied Lexus LS400 wearing hand-beaten aluminum panels alongside a re-trimmed interior. The cost was over £70,000 at the time (equivalent to $200,000 today), considerably more if you chose carbon fiber for the bodywork (nobody did).
People did not line up to buy one. Of course, that might be down to the marketing as Allard told Autocar it was “looking for customers in a very low key way,” which doesn’t sound very ambitious. In the end just three cars were built and only one still exists.
The dark green survivor wears basketweave alloy wheels and its grey and red leather interior is said to have faded to pink. It reportedly runs and drives but will require some reconditioning. On the upside the car is being offered at the Classic Car Auctions sale on March 26 with no reserve, so this weird chapter of British-Japanese automotive history could well come cheap.
Allard enthusiasts willing to spend a little more (about $300,000) can look forward to the company’s short run of JR continuation models.
