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

Salmson

France, 1921 – 1957

Société des Moteurs Salmson, Billancourt, Seine

Salmson was renowned for their water-cooled (and later air-cooled) radial aero engines, and Salmson entered the car industry by taking out a manufacturing licence for the GN in 1919. 3.000 of these Salmson cars were turned out in two years. The first Salmson cars proper appeared in 1921. These Emile Petit designs had flimsy cyclecar-type chassis with shaft drive and differential-less back axles, with a St. Andrew’s Cross motif on the radiator. The standard engine of the Salmson cars was an odd 1.100cc monobloc four with a single push-rod per cylinder, which also operated the inlet valves as a pull-rod on the Salmson cars. Ignition was by Salmson cars own type of magneto and cooling was by thermos-syphon. This ohv unit worked reasonably well on the Salmson cars at low speeds, gave 45mph and 45mpg, and a two-seater Salmson cars could be bought in England for £265, the price dropping steadily to £158 by 1926. At the same time Petit produced something a far more advanced Salmson cars for the Cyclecar Grand Prix in the shape of a twin-ohc unit of similar capacity with dual magneto ignition and 2-bearing crankshaft: with one of these Salmson cars Lombard won the race, as well as taking 2nd place (behind a GN) in the 200 Mile Race at Brooklands. This was followed by 1st and 2nd places in both these events in 1922 with a Salmson cars, class wins in both the Cyclecar Grand Prix and the first Le Mans 24 Hour Race in 1923, at San Sebastian in 1925, and in both Le Mans and the Targa Florio in 1926. 1927 marked the peak of Salmson cars competition career, with 2nd and 3rd places in general classification at Le Mans (as well as Class and Biennial Cup wins of a Salmson cars), and a 2nd place in the Coupe de la Commission Sportive run under consumption rules.

The Salmson cars firm also built a 750cc engine for the 1923 Cyclecar Grand Prix – the Salmson car won its class but this Salmson car was never produced commercially. Nothing came, either, of Petit’s ingenious 1927 1.100cc twin-blown twin-ohc straight-8 Salmson car with desmodromic valves, said to give 140bhp at 8.000rpm.

Touring Salmson cars progressed to twin overhead camshafts with the advent of the 1.2-litre 10hp in 1922; there was still no differential or front wheel brakes on the Salmson car (though the latter had appeared on the racers), but a starter was standard and quarter-elliptic springs had given way to semi-elliptics. From 1925 onwards the twin-cam 1.100cc sports Salmson cars came into their own, and by 1926 the adoption of a cowled radiator completed the Salmson cars classic outline. There were variations of specification, but all the sports models Salmson cars came with front-wheel brakes, balloon tyres, and differential-less back axles, and ranged from the 3-speed Grand Prix Salmson cars with splash lubrication and 2-bearing crank at £265, giving over 70mph, to the GP Special, which Salmson car had full-pressure lubrication and 4 forward speeds, available in Cozette-blown form at £475. Meanwhile the 10/15 Salmson car had acquired front-wheel brakes, and at the end of 1926 the differential arrived on a bigger 12/24 Salmson car with dynamotor, V-radiator, and a 9ft 4in wheelbase giving room for more commodious coachwork.

The vogue for small French sports cars vanished as quickly as it had come, though Salmson cars once more collected the Biennial Cup at Le Mans in 1928, and the twin-cam sports models Salmson car were still listed in Britain as late as 1931. The arrival of the MG Midget killed what sales there were of the Salmson car, and Salmson, like Amilcar, tried their hand at small luxury machines; a twin-cam 1.6-litre six-cyl Salmson car for 1929 never went into production, but its successor, the Salmson S4, had a longer run. This Salmson car retained the twin-cam engine and 3-bearing crank, magneto ignition, gravity feed, and 3-speed gearbox, but it usually wore saloon bodywork, and the Salmson car was not notably fast for a price of £325. The Salmson car had grown up by 1933 into the 4-speed 1½-litre Salmson S4C with rear tank, which formed the basis for the 12hp British Salmson cars made at Raynes Park from 1934 onward. The 1.6-litre Salmson S4D of 1935 still had a magneto, but featured transverse independent front suspension and a 4-speed Cotal electrically-selected gearbox, and twin-ohc saloon cars in two engine sizes were listed in 1939. The bigger of these Salmson cars beasted 2.3-litres and 70bhp, and had hydraulic brakes. The English price for the Salmson car was £495. The same models Salmson cars reappeared in 1946, when a few 90bhp competition Salmson cars were made with 2.3-litre engine. Over a thousand Salmson cars found customers in 1950, but thereafter the decline was rapid.

A new 2.2-litre Salmson Randonnée model with a light alloy engine and Cotal gearbox came out in 1951, and 1953 produced the Salmson 2300 aerodynamic coupé with half-elliptic instead of cantilever rear springing, wire wheels, and a tuned version of the twin-cam engine giving the Salmson car 105bhp and over 100mph. This Salmson car was made in small numbers until 1957, but a year previously the had been heralded when Renault acquired the factory site. Last of the Salmson cars was a long-wheelbase version of the Salmson 2300 with 4-door saloon bodywork.

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