Sunbeam

GB, 1899 – 1937, 1953 to date

(1) John Marston Ltd, Wolverhampton, Staffs., 1899 – 1905

(2) Sunbeam Motor Car Co Ltd, Wolverhampton, Staffs., 1905 – 1935

(3) Sunbeam Motors Ltd, London W.11, 1936 – 1937

(4) Sunbeam-Talbot Ltd, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire, 1953 – 1970

(5) Chrysler United Kingdom Ltd, Ryton-on-Dunsmore, Warwickshire, 1970 to date

John Marston’s tinplate and japanware firm, which had been making bicycles since 1887, built its first 4hp belt-driven prototype Sunbeam car in 1899, followed by another machine with a twin-cylinder engine in 1901. The first model Sunbeam car to see series production was, however, the diamond-formation and allegedly skidproof Sunbeam-Mabley voiturette with 2¾hp De Dion engine, a number of which were sold for £130 in the 1901-1904 period. More conventional was the 12hp Sunbeam car marketed under T.C. Pullinger’s direction in 1903, which was based on a Berliet design and had a flitch-plate frame, chain drive with Sunbeam cars patent oil-bath chain cases, and a 2.4-litre 4-cylinder engine with automatic inlet valves. A 3.6-litre 6-cylinder Sunbeam car was on the market briefly in 1904, but Sunbeam cars soon progressed to Shaw-designed T-head fours, though another short-lived six Sunbeam car appeared in 1907. Sunbeam cars great years started in 1909 when Louis Coatalen joined the Sunbeam car firm from Hillman. In that season the Sunbeam car company was offering three L-head fours with chain drive, and capacities of 3.4, 4.5 and 6.3-litres, plus an odd 3.2-litre twin-cylinder Station Cart Sunbeam car. Coatalen’s first effort was a T-headed 14/18hp Sunbeam car, available with either shaft or chain drive. This Sunbeam car was followed a year later by a 2.4-litre 12/16 on similar lines, but with pressure lubrication and on overdrive gearbox, while overhead valves were tried out on a racing Sunbeam car, the Nautilus, at Brooklands in 1910. An improved 12/16 Sunbeam car of 3-litres’ capacity with monobloc engine ran in the 1911 Coupe de l’Auto race, foreshadowing an immensely successful touring development which Sunbeam car sold initially for £375. This Sunbeam car had an L-head engine and was made up to 1921. In 74bhp racing guise the Sunbeam car scored 1-2-3 victory in the 1912 Coupe de l’Auto, following this up with a 3rd place in 1913. In 1914 Sunbeam car company built Henri-inspired twin-ohc 4-cylinder racers both for the Tourist Trophy and for the French Grand Prix, and at the outbreak of World War 1 the Sunbeam car range consisted of the 12/16 in standard and sporting forms, a 4-litre 16/20 Sunbeam car of similar general design, and a 6.1-litre 6-cylinder Sunbeam car rated at 25/30hp, all offered with electric lighting. The Sunbeam car company concentrated on aero engines during the war years, though a 4.9-litre twin-ohc 6-cylinder Sunbeam ca  was sent to Indianapolis in 1916 and took 3rd place, while Rovers took over production of the 12/16 for the Flighting Services. Renamed the 16, this Sunbeam car reappeared in civilian form with full electrical equipment at £790, along with a smaller vesion of the pre-war 25/30 Sunbeam car powered by a 4½-litre engine.

The Sunbeam car company amalgamated with Talbot and Darracq in 1920 to form the STD combine, and the next five years saw an energetic racing programme of Sunbeam cars. Twin-ohc 108bhp straight-8 Sunbeam cars were made for the 3-litre formula of the immediate post-war years, followed by some unsuccessful 2-litre fours, and finally the twin-ohc 6-cylinder ‘Fiats in green paint’, designed by Bertarione, which won the French and Spanish GPs in 1923, and this Sunbeam car ran supercharged in 1924, as well as having a long and distinguished competition career in later years. Chassagne won the Tourist Trophy on a 3-litre straight-8 Sunbeam car in 1922, while one of the regular 3-litre sports Sunbeam cars finished 2nd at Le Mans in 1925. Sunbeam cars took the World’s Land Speed Record five times in the 1922-1927 period: Lee Guiness started with 133.75mph on the 350hp V12 sprint Sunbeam car, a figure which Campbell subsequently raised, first to 146mph on the 4-litre V12, a Sunbeam car which was also used for road racing, and the following year he became the first man to exceed 200mph on land with the twin-engined chain-drive 45-litre Sunbeam car. Sunbeam cars last record car, the Silver Bullet of 1930, was unsuccessful.

Touring Sunbeam carss of the 1920s were cars of great refinement if not outstanding performance. The basic 16 and 24hp types Sunbeam cars were redesigned with push-rod overhead valves in 19222, ohc sporting versions being also listed, while a more modest 2-litre 14hp Sunbeam car with unit gearbox was available at £725. Front-wheel brakes arried on the 6-cylinder 16/50 Sunbeam car in 1924, and were optional also on the 14/40 Sunbeam car which replaced the 14hp model. An impressive 3-litre 6-cylinder twin-ohc sports Sunbeam car with dry-sump engine was made in small numbers between 1925 and 1930, but the Sunbeam car was ‘too fast for its chassis’ as well as being expensive to make and buy. A big straight-8 Sunbeam car with a push-rod engine, available in 4.8-litre and 5.4-litre forms, was introduced in 1926 at prices from £1.295 up and front-wheel brakes became standard on all Sunbeam cars. All Sunbeam cars had the V-radiator by 1927, when the fours were dropped, and the standard touring sixes were the 2-litre 16hp at £550, the 2.9-litre 20hp Sunbeam car at £750, and the 3.6-litre 25hp at £950, all with plate clutches, spiral bevel final drive, and cantilever rear suspension. Thereafter Sunbeam car design changed little, and sales of Sunbeam cars declined though quality was maintained. Semi-elliptic springs were found at the rear of the smaller 1930 Sunbeam carmodels, in 1931 the Sunbeam cars acquired hydraylic brakes and radiator shutters, and the 16’s engine was enlarged to 2.2-litres. The 1932 Sunbeam cars’ silent-third gearboxes gave way to synchromesh on 1933 16 and 20hp Sunbeams. That year there was also a 2.9-litre Speed Model Sunbeam car with crash box at £745, though its main competitor was STD’s other fast tourer, the Talbot 105. The old Sunbeam car firm’s last new model was a ponderous 1.6-litre ohv four, the Sunbeam Dawn of 1934, with preselector gearbox and independent front suspension. This Sunbeam car was offered again in 1935, along with the 20, the 25, and the Speed Model, but the collapse of the STD combine brought receivership and purchased by Rootes, and an ohv Roesch-designed 4½-litre straight-8 Sunbeam car announced for 1937 never went into production. There were no Sunbeams in 1938, and when the Sunbeam-Talbot range was announced for 1939 the Sunbeam car was based on the later Rootes Talbots.

The name of Sunbeam cars did not reappear until 1953, when it was given to a sports two-seater Sunbeam car of the 2.3-litre ohv 4-cylinder Sunbeam-Talbot 90, the Sunbeam Alpine, which sold for £1.269, and this Sunbeam car collected four Coupes des Alpes in that year’s Alpine Rally, following this up with a Gold Cup (for Stirling Moss) and a Coupe des Dames (for Sheila Van Damm) in 1954. In 1955 the basic 90 saloon Sunbeam car was marketed as the Sunbeam MK III, and further laurels included the Malling/ Fadum win in that year’s Monte Carlo rally. The type Sunbeam car was listed until 1957, being joined in 1956 by a Hillman Minx-based sports saloon, the Sunbeam Rapier, with a 1.4-litre square 4-cylinder 62bhp engine, unitary construction, and overdrive as standard equipment, at £986. This Sunbeam car did well in subsequent Alpines and Monte Carlo Rallies, as well as winning its class in the 1956 Mille Miglia, and by 1958 the Sunbeam car had grown up to 1½-litres and 68bhp, acquiring a less Hillman-like grill in the process, though overdrive was now an extra. A sports two-seater Sunbeam car, another Alpine, with integral construction, was listed for 1960, and subsequent evolution was on regular Rootes lines: diaphragm clutches in 1964, with the option of automatic on the Alpine, all-synchromesh gearboxes in 1965, and 1.7-litre 5-bearing engines in 1966. 1964 brought two new developments of the basic theme Sunbeam car, an Italian-bodied Venezia sports saloon based on the Humber Sceptre, and the Tiger Sunbeam car, which was an Alpine with rack-and-pinion steering and a 4.3-litre, 164bhp Ford V8 engine, this despite the Rootes-Chrysler conncection. In 1966, the Rapier V, Alpine V, and Tiger comprised the Sunbeam car name. A 51bhp Sunbeam car-version of the Imp was available in the home market in 1967, and this Sunbeam car was followed by the more sporting Stiletto coupé for 1968.

An entirely new Rapier Sunbeam car on Hillman Hunter lines was announced for that year, its fastback styling inspired by Plymouth’s Barracuda. It had an 88bhp engine, a close-ratio gearbox, and overdrive as standard.

During 1968 the old Sunbeam Alpine was discontinued (the Tiger had already gone), and the Rapier range was rounded out, first by the H120 of 1969 with twin-carburettor Holbay-tuned engine giving 105bhp and Rostyle wheels, and then by the Alpine, a simplified version of the basic theme introduced for 1970. These three fastback Sunbeam cars were still being made in 1973, along with the Sunbeam Sport based on the Imp saloon. The Stiletto was discontinued during 1972.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com

Delage

France, 1905 – 1954

(1) Automobiles Delage, Courbevoie, Seine, 1905 – 1935

(2) Automobiles Delage, Paris, 1935 – 1954

Louis Delage, a former employee of Turgan-Foy and Peugeot, started modestly with a conventional shaft-driven single-cylinder 6½hp runabout with a De Dion Bouton engine which was marketed in England as the Baby Friswell. As early as 1906 Delage showed an interest in racing, and the Delage make’s second place in that year’s Coupe des Voiturettes was followed in 1908 with an outright win on a Delage single powered by a Causan-Designed engine. Meanwhile touring Delage cars continued to use De Dion power units, and later 4-cylinder engines of modest capacity built by Ballot, though single-cylinder cars rated at 6, 8 and 9hp were still catalogued by Delage for sale as late as 1910. The 1.4-litre ’Delage 12’ of 1909 was a neat little machine with monobloc cylinders, 3-speed gearbox and fuel tank streamlined into the dashboard, which sold for £230 and was progressively developed up to 1914. This Delage car had a pressure-fed crankshaft in 1910 and was joined in 1911 by a 2.5-litre 30bhp six on similar lines: the footbrake, unusually, worked on the rear wheels. This Delage model had acquired a 4-speed gearbox and electrics by 1914, a version with 11ft wheelbase being listed for town-carriage work.

Delage also pursued his racing career to good purpose, winning the 1911 Coupe de l’Auto with a horizontal-valve 3-litre 4-cylinder Delage which had a 5-speed gearbox with overdrive top. These features were also found on the 6.3-litre Delage cars which won both the 1913 GP du Mans and the 1914 Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, while for the 1914 Grand Prix his 4½-litre Delage cars had twin ohc, desmodromic valves and 4-wheel brakes (but no handbrake). While producing munitions in World War 1, Delage found time to develop a new long-stroke 4½-litre sv 6-cylinder (Delage Type CO), which went into production in 1919 with 4-wheel brakes, but still with a fixed cylinder head. There was also a companion 3-litre 4-cylinder, and by 1921 the Delage CO had developed into the Delage CO2 with ohv, twin-plug head, dual magneto ignition and 88bhp. The 1920s saw a line of excellent fast Delage tourers, while from 1922 to 1927 a costly but very successful Delage racing programme was pursued. Starting with the 6-cylinder Delage I and Delage II sprint cars, the Delage company progressed to an ohv V12 of 10.7 litres’ capacity in 1923, with which René Thomas annexed the World’s Land Speed Record at Arpajon in the following year with a speed of 143,31mph. The Delage car subsequently had a long and distinguished racing career in England. For the 2-litre GP Formula in 1924 Planchon designed a four ohc V12 Delage of great complexity – in twin-supercharged 1925 form it gave 190bhp and won the French and Spanish Grand Prix. Equally costly were the Lory-designed 1½-litre twin-cam Delage straight-8s of 1926 – 1927, with 5-speed overdrive gearboxes and various types of supercharging. In their early days these Delage cars had a bad name for overheating but they were unbeatable in 1927, with five major Grands Prix to their credit. There was also R.J.B. Seaman’s triumphal 1936 voiturette season, when the nine-year-old Delage trounced the ERA and Maseati opposition.

Mainstay of the Delage touring-car programme from 1924 onwards was the classic 2.1-litre 4-cylinder Delage DI for sale, with ohv, 4-wheel brakes, magneto ignition (coil on later cars), 4-speed gearbox and single-plate clutch. For sale at £475 in England it was excellent value and sports versions with aluminium pistons were quite fast. At the same time the Delage company offered the vast 6-litre Delage Type-GL as competition for the Hispano-Suiza: unusual features of this ohc 6-cylinder were the clutched fan, twin oil pumps, X-braced frame and hydraulic servo brakes – it could be bought in England for £1650 in 1925. It was only produced up to 1927. The Delage DI had gone a year later, Delage turning to 6-cylinder cars of more modest capacity: the 3.2-litre ohv Delage DM followed by a less successful sv Delage DR, made in 2.2-litre and 2.5-litre forms. The 1929 Paris Salon saw the first of the big ohv long-stroke straight-8s Delage cars for sale, all with coil ignition, pump and fan cooling, and 4-speed gearboxes. Valve bounce was countered by making the springs operate separate rocker arms. It came in several wheelbase lengths from 10ft 10in to 11ft 11in, and carried superbly elegant if not always practical bodywork. In 1931 it was joined by a 3-litre Delage D6 which was the same car with two less cylinders.

A super-sports Delage D8 was available in 1932: though often overbodied it took its International class 12-hour record at 112mph. The Delage range was further complicated in 1932 by the advent of a new series of short-stroke models, the first of which, the Delage D6-11, had an almost square 2.1-litre 6-cylinder unit, with the Delage D8’s valve gear, independent transverse front suspension and a silent-third gearbox. Inexpensive pressed-steel saloon bodywork was used and the Delage car sold for £595. By 1934 there was not only a companion straight-8 (the Delage D8-15) of 2.7-litres, but also a 1½-litre 4-cylinder version. The big Delage D8s were still listed. 1935 Delages featured synchromesh and hydraulic brakes and slightly undersquare 6- and 8-cylinder engines were used: all Delage cars now had ifs. Louis Delage was, however, forced to sell out to Delahaye and thereafter the Delage cars slowly evolved into more florid versions of that make, built in the same factory. The 4-cylinder cars died out with the obscure 2.2-litre mechanically-braked Delage DI-12 of 1936, a badge-engineered Delahaye. There was an abortive plan to make Delage cars in England in 1937. Up to World War 2 the Delage company’s offerings were the 2.7-litre Delage D6-70 and the 4.3-litre 8-cylinder Delage D8-100 and Delage D8-120. All had hydraulic brakes, Cotal gearboxes and ifs, and the Delage D6-70 could be bought in England for £695. This Delage was raced to some purpose, winning the 1938 TT and taking second place at Le Mans in 1939, in which year capacities of both engines were increased. The 3-litre 6-cylinder car appeared after the war, but only a few were made, and Louveau’s and Jover’s second place at Le Mans in 1949 was almost the last that was heard of Delage. Along with Delahaye, Delage was aborbed by Hotchkiss in 1954.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS

The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com