MOTORING
As classic British roadsters from the 1960s go, the Sunbeam Alpine seems distinctly unloved and I can’t really see why. It’s a lovely looking car with good proportions, a long sloping bonnet and a pair of distinctive fins at the rear. If anything, it looks like a scaled down Ford Thunderbird, one of my favourite American cars of all time, and it is at its best in a bold colour with a set of period alloys. Performance is modest, but perfectly acceptable for the time, and the handling is actually pretty good. If you are in the market for an established British classic, but only have a limited budget, the Sunbeam Alpine is a great place to start.
The Alpine was conceived in 1955, hence the tail fins and retro styling, but the first cars were launched in 1959. It stayed in production until 1968 and during that time it went through no less than five different generations. The Series 1 used the drivetrain and mechanicals from the Hillman Minx, though the brakes and suspension were uprated. The 1.5 litre engine produced a heady 72bhp, enough to knock on the door of 100mph. Over the years it was enlarged first to a 1600 and then to a 1750 for the Series 5. There were lots of performance versions produced, including a race tuned Brabham which could top 110 – dizzying performance for the 1960s.
Inside it is all very British sports car with a wooden dash, big steering wheel and tiny bucket seats. The driving experience is very of its time too – heavy steering and brakes, a bruisingly firm ride and a gearbox with more notches than Warren Beatty’s bedpost, though the overdrive makes life a little easier. To be fair, this is par for the course for most roadsters of this era and at least the front disc brakes bring you to a halt in the same county.
For much of its life the Sunbeam Alpine competed against the Triumph Spitfire and the MGB, both of which were cheaper and featured more contemporary styling. As a result, sales were sluggish over here and most of them found their way to the USA – at the last count there were only 110 left on the road in the UK. Normally, rarity
equals value but that doesn’t really seem to be the case with the Alpine. A slightly scruffy runner starts at around £9,000 whereas a low mileage original car in good condition goes for £14-16k. Top money for a fully restored minter is £20,000. As with all cars of this age, rust can be a serious problem. Make sure that you check underneath as replacing the chassis is hugely expensive. There are also quite a few left-hand drive cars on the market which are worth £1-2,000 less. The engine, brakes and suspension are fairly basic and parts are relatively cheap and plentiful, so don’t be put off by a few mechanical issues; a lot of the work can even be undertaken by a competent home mechanic.
The Sunbeam Alpine has a lot going for it. It is a glamorous machine and has the Hollywood pedigree to prove it – Grace Kelly drove one in To Catch a Thief, as did Sean Connery in Doctor No. It is also cheap and easy to upgrade the performance and, unusually for a classic car, this will actually enhance the value as well as the driveability. In the current market, the Alpine is remarkably affordable, and I doubt prices will depreciate significantly.
There is another thing to consider. In 1964 Sunbeam launched a high performance version of the Alpine, badged as the Tiger. It had a 4.3 litre Ford V8 shoehorned under the bonnet which knocked 5 seconds off the 0-60 time. Clean examples of the Tiger now change hands for £70,000! I have a feeling that the halo effect of the Tiger will start to filter down to the Alpine, making it a good investment for the future.
Kit Johnson To advertise simply email
lisa@insightmags.co.uk or call 01237 422074 35
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