Lot Ended
Description
Few owners, the current for 22 years; various choice upgrades
including rebuilt MkIII engine and overdrive gearbox; well-maintained by the
current STAR President owner; driven 60 miles to the sale; 'come and get me'
guide price!
Just as the
Aston Martin DB5 was immortalised by Sean Connery’s James Bond and the Ford
Mustang by Steve McQueen’s Frank Bullitt, the Sunbeam Alpine is forever linked
to Grace Kelly cruising the sun-soaked French Riviera in the Hitchcock classic
To Catch a Thief.
Launched in 1953, the
Alpine was based on the existing Sunbeam-Talbot 90 saloon but with styling input
from Raymond Loewy to add the glamour needed to attract the vital American
market. The curvaceous Roadster body was hand-built by Mulliners of
Birmingham while the 2,267cc four-cylinder overhead-valve engine received a
power boost to 80bhp courtesy of a revised cylinder head.
A further blaze of publicity was achieved when, on its first
competitive outing, an Alpine driven by Sheila van Damm won the Coupes des Dames
in the 1953 Alpine Rally, Stirling Moss adding to the car’s allure when an
Alpine achieved a 120mph flying kilometer record at Jabekke in the same
year before Moss won the Alpine Rally Gold Cup in another Alpine in 1954.
Only 1,192 Alpines were made (801 in LHD and 391
in RHD) before it was replaced by the MkIII in October 1954 (there was no MkII)
and it is thought that only around 200 still survive today.
First registered in Kent in November 1953, this Alpine MkI has been
in the current ownership since 2003 and as our vendor is the President of The
Sunbeam Talbot Alpine Register (STAR), you can be sure it has been
well-looked-after during his 22-year ownership.
Although there are no invoices to substantiate this, we are told that
the car was restored shortly before our vendor acquired it, including a repaint
in the current Coronation Red. While returning from a trip to Holland in 2014,
the original engine lunched a big end bearing on the M25 so our vendor
fitted a stronger MkIII engine which was fully rebuilt. It also gained
overdrive on top gear, operated via the long flick switch conveniently placed on
the dash to the right of the steering wheel, a desirable upgrade for relaxed
high-speed cruising.
Other upgrades in the
current ownership include: new Weber IC34 carburettor with a K&N air filter;
conversion to negative earth with alternator rather than dynamo charging; Facet
solid-state fuel pump in place of the mechanical original; halogen headlamps;
LED rear lights and brake lights; fog and spot lamps for night driving; flashing
indicators front and rear plus working semaphore-arm trafficators with an
isolator switch under the dash.
A good file of
invoices show routine upkeep including heater matrix rebuilt in 2007; new
radiator core and distributor rebuilt in 2010; new windscreen in 2015; new
carpet set (including the boot) in 2020. Two new front tyres were fitted
immediately prior to the auction. The black canvas hood and tonneau cover are in
excellent condition.
While the V5C records just
one previous owner, the original buff logbook shows another three former
keepers. Other documentation includes an original owner’s handbook and workshop
manual, period sales brochure, magazine features on the Alpine plus a STAR
membership application form (our vendor is the President, remember, so you would
expect no less!).
Well-known on the show circuit,
a dozen old MOTs show that the car has covered some 8,400 miles since our vendor
acquired it in 2003, the odometer currently showing 97,917 miles. It has only
covered around 200 miles on the rebuilt engine so it will need to be treated
gently for another 300 miles or so. Driven some 60 miles to the sale, we are
told that it drives as well as it looks and it has certainly been starting
promptly and running sweetly as we have moved it around on site, with healthy
oil pressure.
As you can see in the photos, this
well-historied and judiciously uprated Alpine looks very pretty indeed with a
charming patina. Given that the last four Alpines MkIs that we have sold all
made between £43k - £53k, it looks an absolute steal at the modest guide price
suggested.
Consigned by James Dennison –
07970 309907 – [email protected]