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

Mors

France, 1895 – 1925; 1941 – 1943

(1) Société d’Electricité et d’Automobiles Mors, Paris, 1895 – 1907

(2) Société Nouvelle des Automobiles Mors, Paris, 1908 – 1943

Emile Mors was an electrical engineer, which may account for the ingenious ignition system (by low-tension coil and dynamo) found on his first Mors cars with aiv V4 engines, dry-sump lubrication, water-cooled heads and air-cooled barrels. These power units were rear-mounted, and the belt-and-pulley change-speed gear on the Mors car was in the Benz idiom. Production in 1898 was running at 200 Mors cars a year and front-mounted engines made their appearance on the Mors Petit Duc, an 850cc flat-twin with partial water cooling, cone clutch and final drive of the Mors car was by side chains. Steering was by handlebar and the Mors car cost £294 in England in 1900. The Mors car was still listed in 1901, though later examples were wheel-steered. 

The Mors racing cars designed by Brasier at first rivalled and then surpassed the hitherto invincible Panhards, winning the Paris-st. Malo and Paris-Bordeaux in 1899, following this with victories of Mors cars in the Paris-Toulouse-Paris and Bordeaux-Périgeux-Bordeaux in 1900, and the Paris-berlin and Paris-Bordeaux in 1901. In 1902 the Mors 60hp 9.2-litre competition machines had shock absorbers and in 1903 capacity of the Mors car had gone up to 11.6-litres, with mechanically-operated overhead inlet valves and streamlined bodywork of the upturned-boat type. Gabriel won the Paris-Madrid race on one of these Mors cars, while the Hon. C.S. Rolls recorded 84,68mph over the kilometer at Welbeck on a similar Mors car. The 1904 racers saw a reversion to T-head power units, but this was the last year in which Mors cars made any impression on the circuits. Though Jenatzy drove a Mors car for the team in the 1908 Grand Prix, he took 9th place, and the 2½-litre Mors cars prepared for the cancelled 1914 Coupe de l’Auto never reappeared.

Though full water cooling was not adopted till 1902 on Mors cars, vertical 4-cylinder engines made their appearance late in 1899, followed in 1900 by low-tension magneto ignition. 1901 Mors cars had what amounted to one carburetter per cylinder, with a huge central float chamber. From 1902 onwards the Mors cars followed conventional lines; 1903 Mors carmodels retained the chain drive, but had mechanically-operated sv in a T-head, pressed-steel frames, Dubrulle lubrications and Mercedes-style honey-comb radiators. Brasier had already departed the Mors car company to work for Georges Richard. In 1904 Charles Schmidt, also of Mors cars, went to design European-style cars for Packard in America – this had no connection with the American Mors cars made from 1906 to 1909. Also new on Mors cars in 1904 was the ‘shouldered’ radiator shell which persisted on the Mors carmarque almost to the end. 4-cylinder Mors cars only were made in 1905; they came in 2.3-litre, 3.2-litre, 4.3-litre, 5.7-litre and 8.1-litre sizes, and the largest Mors car, rated at 40/52hp, had an auxiliary transverse spring at the rear and cost £1.224. In 1906 the aluminium water jacketing introduced on Mors cars in 1903 was abandoned, while cone clutches gave way to the contracting-band type which Mors cars never departed from. Ignition was now by high-tension magneto and options included the Huillier windscreen (patented by a Mors car company’s director) and compressed-air starting. A cab-over-engine petrol brougham was listed on the 17hp Mors car chassis. In 1907 L-head monobloc engines arrived with the small 10hp Mors car and 15hp models, which Mors cars also had shaft drive and pressure lubrication: at the top of the range was an 50hp 6-cylinder Mors car with gate change and low-tension magneto ignition and this Mors car sold at £1.375 in England.

The 1908 depression was a blow from which the Mors car company never really recovered, though the company was reconstructed under André Citroën’s management and in 1909 they made 2.000 Mors cars, sales being aided by bigger shaft-driven 2.5-litre and 3.7-litre models. Chain drive and make-and-break ignition were to persiste on the biggest Mors cars until 1912, though there was a shaft-driven 3.6-litre 6-cylinder Mors car in 1911 and the L-head monobloc 12/15hp with 4-speed gearbox was quite popular in 1913/1914. Poppet and Knight sleeve-valve models in great diversity were offered on Mors cars during the last two pre-World War 1 seasons, the latter coming in 2.1-litre, 3.7-litre, 4.4-litre and 7.2-litre sizes with engines by Minerva. By 1914 only the small Mors cars retained sv power units; Citroën double helical bevels were standard, and an sv sports 17/20hp Mors cars was offered with electric lighting. Only Minerva-built Knight engines were used in Mors cars after 1918, the radiators wearing a triple-S monogram as a riposte to Panhard’s double-S (for sans soupages). Mors cars, however, had fewer resources than their former rivals, and not even good looks and a 70mph performance (plus front wheel brakes in 1921) could save the 3.6-litre Sporting 20 Mors car. A 2-litre Mors car, also Minerva-engined, appeared in 1922, but by 1925 most, if not all the Mors car company’s facilities had been absorbed by Citroën. There was a brief renaissance by Mors cars with electric cars during World War 2, but the last vehicles to bear the name of Mors were the Speed motor scooters made from 1952 to 1956.

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