Sunbeam Tiger – with help from Shelby
Rootes
Once upon a time, England was one of the countries in the world that had the highest car production and a great many car brands. One of the car brands was Hillman which was known for its popular family cars. This car brand was produced by the Rootes Group, which was established in 1913 by William Rootes and which was responsible for the production of many car brands.
"Badge engineering"
Among the brands that can be mentioned are Humber, Commer, Talbot and Sunbeam. These car brands were known for solid and simple constructions that were easy to maintain. In the 1950s, Rootes became best known for "badge engineering", where the same construction was used by the various car brands. Although construction and appearance were quite similar, each car brand got its own identity. Rootes chose to give the brands different equipment, decor and engine power. With this as a background, the different brands could be adapted to their own customer groups. A Sunbeam Rapier crashed in a car race while its half-brother Hillman Minx was shopping with the family. Rootes was taken over by Chrysler and later by Peugeot in 1978 who took the factories into use for the production of their own models.
Sunbeam Alpine
One of the many sports models from Rootes was the Sunbeam Alpine. A new model came on the market in the autumn of 1959. It was elegant even though it was partly built on existing models and constructions. The factory did not have large resources to invest in a completely new car model. The 1500 ccm engine it had inherited from the Sunbeam Rapier and the engine was at least made even if it had gained a few more horsepower. With a top speed of 160 km/h, it was not a proper sports car. The car became popular and sold well mostly because of its stylish appearance. Rootes was aware that if it was to become a proper sports car, something had to be done quickly. With little money in the coffers and no time, it was not possible to develop an own engine. The solution was a V8 engine from Ford. With help from Shelby, the car was adapted to the powerful engine and increased speed resources. A tiger had come into the world. The Sunbeam Tiger was produced until 1967 when Rootes was sold to Chrysler. It then became impossible for Chrysler to sell a car model that was equipped with an engine from a competitor.
Technical data Sunbeam Tiger:
Length: 396 cm
Width: 154 cm
Height: 130 cm
Top speed: 195 km/h
Engine: Ford V8 4261 ccm, 164 hp
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