Malcolm Thorne falls for the charms of the Sunbeam Tiger, as he marks 50 years since its demise by sampling the last one built and meeting some of the Ford V8-powered model’s biggest fans.
1967 was a poignant year for fans of British roadsters. Yes, it’s true that a number of exciting new models were launched – the Triumph TR5 endowed Canley’s sports car with six-cylinder motivation in place of its endearing but agricultural four-pot, while Abingdon’s MGC also promised a lusty ‘six’, albeit with mitigated results – but at the same time one of the decade’s finest sporting models was quietly withdrawn. A victim of corporate politics following the Chrysler takeover of Rootes Group, the demise of the brilliant but Ford-engined Sunbeam Tiger was a matter of considerable regret.
The Tiger’s genesis began back in 1962 when Jack Brabham suggested a V8-powered Alpine to Rootes competition manager Norman Garrad, who in turn mentioned it to his son Ian – the firm’s West Coast sales manager in the USA. Before long, Garrad Jnr had enlisted chicken farmer, Le Mans winner and father of the AC Cobra, Carroll Shelby to engineer a prototype. It reputedly cost $10,000, with the funds ‘borrowed’ from the American marketing budget. Meanwhile, a second car was completed before the first by former Shelby race engineer Ken Miles at his workshop on Cahuenga Boulevard, Hollywood. “Ken and I took it for a test drive,” recounted Ian Garrad in 1980. “I must admit to furtively looking for a change of underwear when we hit the fast lane, but within five minutes I knew that we had a winner.”
Denne historien er fra April 2017-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
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Denne historien er fra April 2017-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A Breath of Fresh Air- Alfa Romeo's exotic, V8-powered Montreal was like nothing the marque had made before, but can it compare with a Porsche masterpiece, the 911S 2.4?
The stereotype of the ItaloGermanic automotive rivalry is that the Latin car will be brilliant to drive, but poorly built and ergonomically flawed, while the Teutonic will be the opposite. Yet these 2+2 sports coupés both ran against orthodoxy. In the Montreal, Alfa Romeo created an outlandish-looking two-door more comfortable, more powerful and more refined than anything it had produced for decades. Meanwhile, Porsche continued to refine its back-to-front, austere and increasingly aged 911. Neither took a traditional development path, but both created thrilling and individual cars that have echoed through the decades.
Daring to be diminutive
AMC's Gremlin and Pacer, and Ford's much-derided Pinto, led America's response to the threat of imported European compacts
THE LONG WAY ROUND
There is a great tradition of overland trips by Land-Rover, but the tale of this 70s Aussie epic and the car itself was discovered by chance
Handsome cab
The Phantom V limousine marked the beginning of the end for coachbuilder James Young, but this Rolls-Royce represents the craft at its very best
DOING IT FOR THEMSELVES
Racing for their own F1 teams brought some drivers success and an enduring legacy. For others, it turned into a nightmare
20 30 LITRES CYLINDERS, 400BHP......AND MORE THAN A CENTURY OLD
Thunderous torque, flame-spitting stub-exhausts, white-knuckle thrills - and hopefully no spills - aboard a trio of Edwardian racing titans
ICON.
The three top-selling vehicles in the USA in 2023 were pick-ups, topped by the Ford F-Series. This is the truck that started it all
Blurred Lines
lan 'Del' Lines blended the V8 burble of Triumph's open GT with real practicality in his Stag V8 saloons and estates
Home of the brave
The innovative Silverstone proved a hit with keen amateur drivers. To mark its 75th, Healey's club racer returns to the circuit for which it is named
PLAYING ALL THE ANGLES
Alfa Romeo's wild RZ eschewed the jellymould styling of the period to offer a striking, wedge-shaped take on open-topped performance motoring
