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 Alpine’s allure when he
achieved a 120mph flying kilometer record at Jabekke in the same year before
winning 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 and fitment of 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. 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 £43k - £53k, it looks an absolute steal at the modest
guide price suggested.
Consigned by James
Dennison – 07970 309907 – [email protected]