It ran around the world’s streets before our time, but the Allard J2X roadster was one of the most awesome cars to be produced in the UK back in the 50’s. Apart from its sheer awesomeness – a number of prominent people were fans of the roadster, including Carroll Shelby and Steve McQueen - the J2X was also unbelievably rare, with only 83 models being built from 1951 to 1954 before finally vanishing from the face of the planet.

Okay, the car’s unceremonious end wasn’t that exaggerated, but the car did run for only three years. That is until the Canada-based Allard Motor Works decided to produce the long-overdue successor to the J2X, the J2X MK II Roadster. The look is undeniably not one you’d mistake for a modern-day roadster, but for what it’s worth, that’s what makes the car so appealing. It’s the perfect combination of classic styling meeting new-school performance specs, giving you a modern-day classic that can hold its own against any of the new-blood sports cars running around the world’s streets these days. The car will eventually be sold in Europe through UK dealers Premium Classic Cars.

Details after the jump.

Exterior and Interior

The tough part of making a modern interpretation of a classic car is keeping its classic heritage while not going too far in bastardizing the old-school look. With attention-to-detail playing critical importance on the building of this car, the Allard engineers handcrafted the car while also infusing it with modern-day build quality, as well as the latest in safety technology to ensure that the roadster’s interior is up to today’s standards.

As for the interior, the JX2 MK II roadster takes a lot of its design and materials on the original piece of work, with a number of modifications, including stretching and widening the foot boxes to ensure a more spacious and comfortable ride. The car’s instrument panel, which is made from aluminum, is another ode to the car’s celebrated history, as well as the Monza-inspired fuel cap, and the bespoke seats that have been dressed up in high-grade, hand-stitched leather.

Performance

Despite being made in the Great White North, the J2X MK II will have some American influence inside it, thanks to a GM Ram Jet V8 engine that produces roughly 350 horsepower and 400 lb/ft of torque. With that much power being transferred to the car’s rear wheels through a Tremec TKO five-speed transmission, the car is expected have it’s full technical capacity working in perfect synchronicity. That being said, the car’s suspension is now fully adjustable that comes with a coil over set-up with aluminum shock absorbers and 330 mm cross-drilled disks.

Pricing

Pricing for the J2X MK II Roadster has yet to be announced by the manufacturer, but there have been whispers that it’s expected to come at around £95,000, which is somewhere around north of $150,000 based on current exchange rates.

Competition

It’s a little hard to say given the overall make-up of the car isn’t particularly common these days. Maybe Phil Dunmore, Premier Classic Cars Director, said it best when describing the J2X MK II: “This is a bespoke, modern performance car with its roots in a glorious past and that's a recipe that will appeal to a lot of discerning European enthusiasts."

There may be a lot of cars that can compete with the J2X MK II in terms of performance quality, but none of those cars can claim to have the J2X MK II Roadster’s rather classic – and dare we say, timeless – look.