Geoffrey Taylor (1903–1966) established Alta in Surbiton, Surrey. The company's initial product was a sports car in 1929, powered by a 1.1L engine of Taylor's own design, featuring an aluminium block, wet liners, and shaft-driven twin overhead camshafts. This engine was available in naturally aspirated (49 bhp) or supercharged (76 bhp) forms. These early models, offered with either a four-speed non-synchromesh or pre-selector gearbox, were mounted on a low-slung chassis and had open two- or four-seat bodies. Thirteen were manufactured, with five believed to still exist.
The 1.1L design, along with subsequent 1.5L and 2L versions, sold in limited numbers until the outbreak of World War II in 1939. With the highest power option, the car could reach 120 mph and accelerate from 0–60 mph in 7 seconds. In 1937, Alta introduced independent front suspension to its chassis. These cars gained popularity among club racers due to their easy conversion between 1.5L and 2L configurations, allowing drivers on a budget to compete in multiple classes with a single vehicle.
In 1934, Taylor developed Alta's first dedicated competition car, a lightweight, off-set single-seat voiturette. These cars earned a reputation in shorter events like hill-climbs, sprints, and time-trials. Their competitive pricing, compared to ERA models, led to sales among amateur racers, though a lack of reliability limited their success in longer Grand Prix events. A revised voiturette design with independent front suspension appeared in 1937, which George Abecassis used to win several events before World War II. As the war approached, Taylor was designing a new straight-8 engine and a third-generation voiturette with fully independent suspension. This advanced pre-war car was nearly complete in late 1939, but Alta's production capabilities were redirected to the war effort, halting its development. In February 2018, a 1936 Alta 2-Litre Sports (chassis no. 64S) sold for 345,000€ at a Bonhams auction in Paris.
Alta was the first British constructor to produce a new Grand Prix car after World War II, despite its small size and primary focus on road cars. Taylor began production of designs he had developed during the war years, and the Alta GP car debuted in 1948. Production of road-going sports cars also resumed, though their popularity declined without further development funding.
The Alta GP car was an evolution of the pre-war design, powered by a supercharged 1.5L engine producing approximately 230 bhp, and retained the pre-war cars' four-speed pre-selector gearbox. Taylor further developed the independent suspension, incorporating wishbones and rubber linkage bushings. The first car was supplied to privateer George Abecassis, who campaigned it in 1948 and 1949, achieving only one finish. Abecassis later used Alta engines to power his HWM team from 1951 to 1955.
Modifications were made to the bodywork and gearchange for the subsequent 1949 and 1950 GP2 and GP3 vehicles, with GP3 also gaining a two-stage supercharger. These were built to order for Geoffrey Crossley (GP2) and Joe Kelly (GP3). Crossley drove GP2 in the 1949 Belgian Grand Prix, finishing seventh. In 1950, he set speed records over 50 miles, 50 km, and 100 km at Montlhéry. Kelly primarily competed in Irish races, with his best finish being third in the 1952 Ulster Trophy. Both drivers entered their respective chassis in the 1950 British Grand Prix, the inaugural Formula One World Championship race. Kelly finished but was unclassified, while Crossley retired with a transmission fault.
Kelly later extensively modified and rebuilt GP3, running it as the Irish Racing Automobiles (IRA) car in 1952 and 1953. A significant change was replacing the Alta engine with a Bristol unit.
Lacking the funds to develop a Formula One successor to the GP design, Taylor shifted focus to the junior Formula Two category. The F2 engine was a 1970 cc inline 4-cylinder, naturally aspirated unit, producing around 130 bhp. However, Alta's F2 chassis design closely mirrored the heavier GP car, resulting in an overweight vehicle given the reduced power of the unsupercharged engines. Tony Gaze and Gordon Watson toured European races with F2/1 and F2/2, but good results were scarce.
Although Dennis Jenkinson's book Historic Racing Cars incorrectly stated that the uncompleted GP4 machine became F2/3, chassis GP4 was sold to Bobbie Baird in Ireland and was converted into a Jaguar-engined two-seater sportscar, in which form it still exists. F2/3 was no more successful than its predecessors. F2/4 followed in construction and was sold to Orlando Simpson before Peter Whitehead ordered F2/5, the last Alta car built. This F2 Alta was entered in World Championship Grands Prix events, driven by Whitehead himself in the 1952 French Grand Prix, and by his half-brother Graham Whitehead at the 1952 British Grand Prix. Neither entry scored points, but the Alta name would reappear in Formula One.
While the F2 engine was hampered by its chassis, Peter Whitehead's modifications to the unit in his car demonstrated its tuning potential. Alta engines had been used by the HWM team since 1949, and from 1953, more mechanics began to utilize the Taylor-designed power plant. Peter Whitehead led this trend by installing the F2/5 engine into a Cooper T24 chassis for the 1953 British Grand Prix. At the same Silverstone event, four Alta-powered HWM cars were also present. The previous year, HWM had achieved Alta's only significant victory when Lance Macklin won the 1952 BRDC International Trophy race at Silverstone. Over the next few years, 1.5L and 2.5L Alta engines were used in many British F1 hopefuls, most notably Connaught and Cooper. The engine ultimately proved capable of approximately 240 bhp. With the collapse of Connaught in 1959, the Alta name permanently exited Formula One.
After World War II, Alta produced aftermarket speed equipment. Their most recognized product was an overhead valve head conversion kit for early Morris Minor and Morris Eight models, which originally had flathead engines. This conversion could double the 27 bhp output of the flathead engine. Alta also manufactured high-compression cylinder heads for the Austin 7.
Geoffrey Taylor died in 1966 at the age of 63. In 1976, his son Michael attempted to revive the Alta name with a Formula Ford car, but without success. A few pre-war sports and single-seat Alta cars survive in private ownership. GP101, originally owned by George Abecassis, was rebuilt as a hill climb car for Phil Scragg and remains in use. F2/5 has been reunited with its original powerplant and has participated in several historic race meetings, including the 1999 Goodwood Revival.
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