1935 Alta 1.5-Litre

The Alta Car and Engineering Company, more commonly known as Alta, was a British sport and racing car manufacturer founded by engineer Geoffrey Taylor in Surbiton, Surrey. Their first automobile was a 1,100cc (1.1-liter) vehicle produced in 1929. The engine had a lightweight aluminum block, shaft-driven twin overhead camshafts, hemispherical combustion chambers, Nitralloy steel crankshafts, and cast-iron wet liners, which Taylor designed. Both naturally aspirated and supercharged versions were available. The engine was mounted in a low-slung chassis and fitted with both two- or four-seat coachwork, and either a four-speed non-synchromesh or pre-selector gearbox. Larger 1.5- and 2-liter examples followed, also built in limited numbers. It is estimated that 13 examples of the 1.1-Liter were built and currently five are known to survive.

Many manufacturers during this era used proprietary bits and pieces from various sources to assemble their vehicles. Geoffrey Taylor, however, designed and made every part of the Alta sports and competition models, including the superchargers.

The first Alta built solely for competition was an offset single-seat model built in 1934. It is believed that approximately four single-seater racers, six offset single-seater races, and 19 sports types were built prior to the outbreak of World War II.

by Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2019