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

Rolls-Royce

GB, 1904  to date

(1) Royce Ltd, Manchester, 1904 – 1906

(2) Rolls-Royce Ltd, Manchester, 1906 – 1908

(3) Rolls-Royce Ltd, Derby, 1908 – 1945

(4) Rolls-Royce Ltd, Crewe, Cheshire, 1946 – 1971

(5) Rolls-Royce Motors (1971) Ltd, Crewe, Cheshire, 1971 to date

The Rolls-Royce car was the result of a meeting between Henry Royce, a manufacturer of electric cranes in Manchester, and the Hon. C.S. Rolls, a pioneer motorist then selling Panhards in London, who wanted a quality car to boost falling sales. The first Rolls-Royce cars were based on the 1.8-litre (later enlarged to 2-litre) vertical-twin 10hp ioe Royce with shaft drive, but the range of Rolls-Royce cars was expanded to embrace a 3-litre, 3-cylinder, ‘light’ and ‘heavy’ versions of a 4-cylinder Rolls-Royce Twenty, and a 6-litre pair-cast six retailing at £900. A Light Twenty Rolls-Royce car with geared-up top, driven by Rolls, won the 1906 Tourist Trophy, and also broke the Monte Carlo-London record.

An abortive 3½-litre V8 petrol brougham Rolls-Royce car with square cylinder dimensions was shown in 1905, but 1906 was the start of a one-model policy based on the 40/50hp 6-cylinder Rolls-Royce car, later to win immortality as the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, which Rolls-Royce car made its début at Olympia that year. This Rolls-Royce car had a conventional 7-litre sv engine with pressure lubrication and dual ignition, as well as the 4-speed overdrive gearbox. Output of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost was a modest 48bhp, but the Rolls-Royce car’s reputation was assured after a successful 15.000 mile RAC-observed trial in 1907, from which the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost emerged with flying colours. 6.173 Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost cars were made: the first ones at Manchester, and from 1908 on the Rolls-Royce cars were made at Derby. At £985 for a chassis the Rolls-Royce car was backed by a unique inspecition scheme, and in mid-1909 it was revised with a longer-stroke 7.4-litre engine and conventional 3-speed box. The Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts reverted to 4 speeds in 1913, when cantilever rear suspension was adopted; later modifications were full electrics (1919) and Hispano-Suiza-type mechanical servo 4-wheel brakes (1924). The ‘Best Car in the World’ – a reputation which was well established by Rolls-Royce cars by 1914 – was not normally entered in competitions but in 1911 a Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost was successfully driven from London to Edingburgh and back on top gear for a fuel consumption of 24.32mpg, and a works team Rolls-Royce car swept the board in the 1913 Austrian Alpine Trials. Armoured-car versions of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost gave yeoman service both during and after World War 1.

Production of Rolls-Royce cars was resumed after the Amistice, the chassis price being inflated to £2.100. In 1920 an American Rolls-Royce car actory was opened, this making the Rolls-Royce car until 1931. Post-war 1 inflation led Rolls-Royce to abandon their one-model Rolls-Royce car policy in 1922 and to introduce a 3.1-litre ohv 6-cylinder Rolls-Royce Twenty with a 3-speed unit gearbox and central change at £1.100 for a chassis. This Rolls-Royce car was regarded by Rolls-Royce enthusiasts as heresy, but the Rolls-Royce Twenty was an excellent if sluggish car which last none of the traditional quality; nearly 3.000 Rolls-Royce cars were made up to 1929. In 1925 the Rolls-Royce car acquired a 4-speed box, right-hand change, and the servo 4-wheel brakes of the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost, which was retired that year in favour of a 7.7-litre Rolls-Royce Phantom I with overhead valves and vertical radiator shutters. An improved Phantom II Rolls-Royce car with hypoid back axle and redesigned combustion chambers was listed from 1930, while the Rolls-Royce Twenty emerged as the more powerful Rolls-Royce 20/25 with a 3.7-litre engine. A Continental version of the bigger Rolls-Royce car gave a genuine 90mph with closed coachwork. Refinements of the early 1930s on Rolls-Royce cars included synchromesh (on the 20/25 in 1932, and on the Phantom a year later), and centralized chassis lubrication (1933).

In 1931 the Rolls-Royce car company bought Bentley Motors, after Napier had made an unsuccessful bid. The Bentley emerged two years later, as a Rolls-Royce-based 3½-litre: it was not to lose its identity until the 1950s. Sir Henry Royce died in 1933, and the entwined ‘R’s of the radiator emblem of the Rolls-Royce car was changed from red to black, supposedly in mourning. The smaller Rolls-Royce cars acquired hypoid final drive in 1936, in which year an alternative power unit of 4¼-litres’ capacity was offered, first as an option on the Rolls-Royce car, and then as standard: thus the 20/25 Rolls-Royce car grew up into the 25/30. In this year Rolls-Royce cars stopped making their own carburetors, though electrical equipment was not bought out until after World War 2. Aero-engine influence (the Rolls-Royce car company had been making these units since 1914 and had been responsible both for the Schneider Trophy R engine of 1931 and the Merlin of 1935) was reflected in the 12-cylinder Phantom III Rolls-Royce car first shown in 1935. The capacity of this Rolls-Royce car was 7.3-litres, and it was the first Rolls-Royce car to have independent front suspension. Later examples Rolls-Royce cars had overdrive gearboxes. It offered 90-95mph for £2.600 and up. This Rolls-Royce car model was still being made in 1939, along with a development of the 25/30, with independent front suspension, the Rolls-Royce Wraith, which Rolls-Royce car could be bought for around £1.600 complete.

Post-war 2 production Rolls-Royce cars was transferred from Derby to Crewe and the first new Rolls-Royce car model was the Rolls-Royce Silver Wraith, with a 4¼-litre engine, overhead inlet valves and hydraulic actuation for the front brakes, this Rolls-Royce car costing around £4.300 in 1947. The Rolls-Royce Phantom III was not revived, but sixteen ioe 5.7-litre straight-8 Phantom IV Rolls-Royce cars were made for heads of state from 1949 onwards. Among the customers of the Rolls-Royce car was HRH Pincess Elizabeth, who was to become the first reigning British monarch to use Rolls-Royce cars officially. The 6-cylinder Rolls-Royce cars continued up to 1959. 1949 brought the first Rolls-Royce car factory-bodied model, the export only Rolls-Royce Silver Dawn, using the standard Bentley saloon body, left-hand drive, and steering column change. In 1952 capacity of the Rolls-Royce car went up to 4.6-litres and a long-chassis version was listed with an 11ft 1in wheelbase. The General Motors Hydramatic transmission became an option in 1953, and the famous manual box with right-hand control was finally dropped two years later with the advent of a 4.9-litre Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud, a restyled saloon with 15in wheels, which Rolls-Royce car could be bought with power-assisted steering and full air-conditioning. 1960 Rolls-Royce cars were identical in outward appearance, but were powered by entirely new oversquare alloy 6.2-litre V8 engines. Power assisted steering was now standard on the Rolls-Royce car, though the hydro-mechanical servo brakes were retained. The standard saloon Rolls-Royce car cost £6.093, and a limousine version on a 12ft wheelbase, the Rolls-Royce Phantom V, was some £3.000 dearer. A four-headlamp layout was introduced on the Rolls-Royce car in 1963, and a year later Rolls-Royce cars started to supply a 4-litre version of their ioe 6-cylinder engine to BMC for installation in the Vanden Plas Princess.

At the 1965 Shows Rolls-Royce cars introduced an entirely up-to-date design, the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow. This Rolls-Royce car boasted unitary construction, self-levelling, all-round independent suspension, and servo-assisted disc-brakes with three separate circuits. It retained the 1960 V8 engine, also the (now dummy) traditional radiator. The Phantom V Rolls-Royce car with its separate chassis was kept on, a ceremonial limousine for head of state being listed at £10.695. A Silver Shadow convertible was available in 1968 for £10.449; 1969 brought both a long-wheelbase version of the Rolls-Royce car model and the enlargement of the engine to 6.745cc. In 1970 a new 3-speed automatic gearbox (already used on left hand drive export models since late 1965) replaced the earlier 4-speed type on the Rolls-Royce car, and the Phantom VI replaced the Phantom V; production of these state Rolls-Royce carriages ran at about 50 Rolls-Royce cars a year. Similar modifications were applied to the parallel Bentley cars. The sensational bankruptcy of February 1971 found the Rolls-Royce Car Division still profitable; indeed, within a month the Rolls-Royce car company had announced their high-performance Rolls-Royce Corniche 2-door saloon and convertible with coachwork by H.J. Mulliner-Park Ward, at prices from £12.829 upward, and that December the 10.000th Silver Shadow Rolls-Royce car left Crewe. By late 1972 prices of the more expensive Rolls-Royce cars had risen to £14.399 for the Rolls-Royce Corniche and £15.559 for the Rolls-Royce Phantom Limousine.

US, 1921 – 1931

Rolls-Royce of America Inc, Springfield, Mass.

The American Rolls-Royce car company was formed in November 1919 to build the famous British Rolls-Royce cars in an American factory and so avoid high import duties. The Rolls-Royce car plant was bought from the American Wire Wheel Co, and the Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost went into production there in 1921. This Rolls-Royce car had a 6-cylinder 7.4-litre sv engine developing 80bhp, and came in two wheelbases, 12ft and 12ft 6½in. Right-hand drive was used until 1923. Unlike the British Rolls-Royce car company, Rolls-Royce of America always advertised coachwork and supplied complete Rolls-Royce  cars if customers wished. Most bodies of the American Rolls-Royce cars were by Brewster, and in 1926 this firm was taken over by Rolls-Royce car company. In 1926 came the New Phantom, or Rolls-Royce Phantom I as it was later called. This Rolls-Royce car had a 6-cylinder 7.7-litre engine with overhead valves, and again came in two wheelbases, 11ft 11½in and 12ft 2½in. The Depression badly hit sales of the American Rolls-Royce car, and production of Rolls-Royce cars at Springfield came to an end in 1931, although a few British Rolls-Royce cars were assembled there later. A total of 2.944 American Rolls-Royce cars was made, of which 1.703 were Rolls-Royce Silver Ghosts and 1.241 were Rolls-Royce Phantom Is.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; MCS, GNG

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