Alexis Cars was a British constructor of racing cars. It was formed in 1959 by Alex Francis and Australian Bill Harris. They built cars for Formula Junior, F100, Formula Ford, Formula 3, Formula B, Formula Atlantic and Formula 2 racing classes.
Alex Francis, originally a building contractor, was a trials car builder. Bill Harris was a speedway rider, racing mechanic, and racing car designer from Australia. The company was established in Ward End, Birmingham, where Francis lived. When Bill Harris returned to Australia in 1965, Allan Taylor took his place. Alexis operation remained small, usually building a few racing cars for its own racing team and selling them at the end of the season, until the late 1960's when Formula Ford was born and became popular.
By winning the first Formula Ford championships in England and Scotland with Mk.11 in 1967, Alexis gained a reputation as a racing car constructor. Mk.15 (Formula Ford) and Mk.18 (Formula Ford and Formula 3) became a big success, firmly establishing the financial foundation. Disliking running the larger-scale company, Alex Francis sold the ownership to Allan Taylor in 1968; and Doug Christie, who was responsible for the engine shop, joined Taylor as the co-director. In 1970, the company moved to Hallaughton Farm, an old cheese dairy in Sutton Coldfield, on the outskirts of Birmingham.
Cars
Year Model Racing class Notable engines used Notes Drivers 1960-1961 HF1 Formula Junior BMC A-series engine Front engine. Drum brakes. Steel space frame. Aluminium body Alex Francis HF2 Ford Anglia 1.0L 105E bored out to 1,098cc Mk.3 Midship engine. All-disc brakes, Hewland Mk.III 1962 Mk.4 Cosworth Mk.IV 1963-1964 Formula 2 Cosworth Mk.III Hewland Mk.III, 7th (Hawkins) at 1964 Pau Grand Prix Paul Hawkins Formula 3 Cosworth Mk.III Converted to F3 spec, Hewland Mk.III Mk.5 Formula Junior Cosworth Mk.IV Fibreglass body John Ampt Formula 3 Cosworth Mk.III One car sold to DAF, Variomatic transmission, raced in 1964-65 Henk van Zalinge Rob Slotemaker For Team Alexis, 2nd (Ampt) at Eifelrennen in 1964 John Ampt Terry Ogilvie-Hardy Formula 2 Cosworth Mk.III Team Alexis, 6th (Hawkins) at Eifelrennen in 1964 Paul Hawkins Mk.6 Formula 3/2 Cosworth Mk.III /Cosworth SCA Designed by Bill Harris for both F3 and F2, Hewland Mk.IV John Ampt Allan Taylor Converted to Formula 2 in 1966 with Cosworth SCA. 1965 Mk.7 Formula 2 Cosworth SCA Converted Mk.6. Paul Hawkins won Eifelrennen Paul Hawkins Mk.8 Formula 3 Holbay-tuned MAE Shorter spaceframe version of Mk.6, new uprights, Hewland Mk.VI. 10th (Smith) at Halle, 4th (Maglia) and 7th (Blokdyk) at Monza George Smith Alexis-tuned MAE Jacques Maglia Trevor Blokdyk 1966 Mk.9 Designed by Allan Taylor, Hewland Mk.VI. 13th (Ogilvie-Hardy) at Brands Hatch Terry Ogilvie-Hardy 1967 Mk.10 Formula Ford Ford Pre-Crossflow Designed by Allan Taylor, Hewland Mk.VI. Formula Ford proof of concept for John Webb, the founder of Formula Ford Mk.11 Ford Crossflow Bourgoignie won the first Formula Ford championship in England. Walker won Scottish Championship Claude Bourgoignie Dave Walker Mk.12 Formula 3 Novamotor-tuned MAE Hewland Mk.VI, 7th (Ogilvie-Hardy) at non-championship Chimay Terry Ogilvie-Hardy Alexis-tuned MAE Hewland Mk.VI Ken Crook 1968 Mk.14 Formula Ford Ford Crossflow About 60 examples named "Russell-Alexis" for Jim Russell Driving Development School at Snetterton Mk.15 About 70 units sold 1969-1970 Mk.17 Formula 3 Alexis-tuned MAE Hewland Mk.VI Ken Crook Holbay-tuned MAE Hewland Mk.VI Ken Bailey Mk.18 MAE various tuners 50 cars sold. Hewland Mk.VI Formula Ford 1.6L Ford Crossflow 24 units sold. Hewland Mk.VI F100 1.3L Ford Crossflow 2 cars sold. Hewland Mk.VI 1971 Mk.20 Formula 3 Vegantune-tuned MAE Tubular monocoque. Side radiators. Hewland Mk.VI Formula B Cosworth BDD Tubular monocoque. Side radiators. Hewland FT200 Formula Atlantic
References
Notes
External links The Alexis Registry