The Shelby J2X

In its day, J2X-3146 didn’t do much to boost the interests of the Allard Motor Company, but the car was the cornerstone that transformed sports cars and motorsport. The car was exported on November 20, 1952 to Noel Kirk Motors in Los Angeles where it was purchased by Roy Cherryhomes. It was configured for wire wheels, dual side mount spare tires, and a full windshield. Power was to be supplied by a Cadillac engine and it was originally painted cream with a red interior. 3146 was soon repainted red and prepared for racing.

Roy was not a racer, but he handed the wheel over to a young Carroll Shelby who proved he could handle an Allard, racing J2-2179 owned by Charles Brown in 1952. Shelby remembers 3146’s first race in ‘Carroll Shelby, A Collection of Photos’, “I won the race for Roy Cherryhomes. It was at Eagle Mountain, Texas on October 26, 1952 (correction March 19, 1953). The understanding was that I would drive strictly for expenses, but even so, I was pretty much thrilled. In the Southwest, good rides were mighty hard to come by in the sports car field, especially then. Suddenly there I was with the latest equipment, a car I knew well, and a competent mechanic. Another reason I got a big charge out of the ride was that, by then, Masten Gregory was winning just about everything in our part of the country. Well, I thought, maybe we can put a stop to that, always in a friendly way, of course.”

From there, Shelby won at Mansfield in June, Offutt in July, and Eagle Mountain again in August. The August 1957 race was notable in that it was the debut of Shelby’s infamous striped overall racing suit. From the same book, Shelby notes, “It was hot that Saturday morning and I was working on the farm. I was wearing my striped farmer coveralls. Eventually I realized that if I was going to get in any practice, I’d have to hurry up. So I took off just the way I was. When I got in the Allard, I realized how much cooler the coveralls were than regular driver outfits. Well, seems like everyone got a big laugh out of that and my picture appeared in the papers. I got more publicity because of those doggone coveralls than I did from winning the race!”

Shelby’s last race in 3146 was at the 1000 km Buenos Aires in Argentina. To say the least, Shelby and co-driver Dale Duncan had an eventful race and finished 10th overall and won the Kimberly Cup, a race within a race between four American and four Argentinian teams. The drive impressed John Wyer of Aston Martin who soon signed him to race their new DB3. To learn more about the race, you can read a story my father Charlie Warnes wrote for the Jan/Feb 1997 issue of Vintage Motorsport.

It’s a shame that the J2X did not arrive sooner. The first cars were delivered in early 1952, but the competition was already catching up to the mighty American powered Allards. Many J2X’s were raced, but they never achieved the success that the J2’s saw. 3146 was likely one of the most successful J2X’s raced, and that can largely be attributed to the man behind the wheel. Racing this Allard taught Carroll how to handle big power, save his brakes, and drive fearlessly - traits that would serve him well in later years as he raced Astons, Ferraris, Maserati’s and other marques with great success.

Several years later, Carroll Shelby partnered with AC Cars in the UK to import their Ace sports car into America where he would install potent Ford V8’s. Shelby called these cars COBRA’s and well, you already know about them. I recall reading somewhere that when asked if his time racing Allards with their British chassis and American V8 motors helped inspire the COBRA, Shelby replied, “where the hell do you think I got the idea!?”

Nowadays, 3146 is no trailer queen. The car is largely original for a racing Allard and carries a FIA Historic Passport which enables it to be vintage raced anywhere. The car is quick too - in 2019, J2X-3146 won its race group at the Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion where it bested a number of very fast California racing specials.

In my opinion, J2X-3146 is arguably one of the most significant sports racing cars of all time. Without it, would Shelby have won Le Mans with Aston Martin? Would there have ever been a COBRA or a Mustang GT350? Would Ford have won Le Mans? The origin of all these questions trace directly back to this car, J2X-3146.

J2X-3146 will be offered by RM Sotheby’s on Saturday August 20, 2022 as lot #354. The estimate is listed as $500,000 to $750,000. To learn more, click here to visit RM Sotheby’s web site.

-Colin Warnes