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

Talbot

1903 – 1938

Clement-Talbot Ltd, North Kensington, London W.10

From 1903, Clement-Talbot Ltd, a company backed by the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot, began importing the French Clément car into Britain; in spite of its name and an interest held by Adolphe Clément, the concern was British, and by the end of the year its cars were called Talbot cars. The 1904 models Talbot cars were a 6hp single, and 11hp twin, and two big fours. All of the Talbot cars had shaft drive and side valves in T-heads, except for the biggest, the 27hp voiture de luxe Talbot car, which used overhead inlet valves and a single camshaft. Trucks, buses and boats were also advertised, next to Talbot cars. Promotion of the Talbot car, which was at first in the hands of the managing director, D.M. Weigel, was energetic and successful.
By the end of 1904, an impressive Talbot car factory had been built, complete with test track, and in the following year British-assembled, and partly British-made Talbot cars emerged from it. A wide variety of types Talbot cars was listed, from an 11hp twin to a great 50hp 4-cylinder Talbot car. One model that was to be famous, the 12/16hp Talbot car, had already been designed. French cars were still being imported by the Talbot car company. However, the 20hp Talbot car of 1906 was the first British-made Talbot car. It was designed by C.R. Garrard, and while still conventional, this Talbot car had an unusually efficient engine of 3.8 litres’ capacity. Both this and the 2.7-litre ‘12/16’ Talbot car were fast cars that quickly made a name for themselves in competitions; the slogan for the Talbot cars became ‘The Invincible Talbot’. For 1907 a 3-litre 15hp, a Talbot car in the same mould, superseded the ‘12/16’. By 1908 this Talbot car was the only British chassis offered, into which could be installed 15hp, 25hp or 35hp engines. The Talbot car popularity was due to a combination of smoothness, reliability, speed and reasonable price. The French range Talbot cars was still listed. A six was introduced for 1910, and the 4½-litre 25hp was revised by G.W.A. Brown with an L-head valve arrangement. This model Talbot car, highly tuned and lightened, and fitted with a racing body, became the first car to cover 100 miles in an hour, at Brooklands in 1913 in the hands of Percy Lambert. In the same year a new model Talbot car, the 2.6-litre 15/20hp, was introduced. This Talbot car and the 25hp, now called the ‘25/50’, were the famous cars that kept the Talbot car name before the public eye in competitions. A sports model Talbot car of the latter was also listed. By this time, the French range Talbot cars had been dropped.

In 1919 Clement-Talbot was taken over by another French-sounding, but in fact British-owned firm, the Société Alexandre Darracq of Paris. Darracq proceeded to acquire Sunbeam as well, but private Talbot car policy was at first unaffected. The 25/50hp and 15/20hp Talbot cars were continued. For 1922, however, the new 1-litre Darracq light car was offered as the 8/18hp Talbot car. In the Talbot tradition, this Talbot car was a solid car with above-average performance and handling. The push-rod overhead valve engine had coil ignition, there were only two seats in the Talbot car, there was no differential, and suspension was by quarter-elliptic springs all round. Both acceleration and brakes of the Talbot car were excellent; in other words, this Talbot car was a light car more typical in France than of England. Georges Roesch, who had been Chief Engineer since 1916 and had already devised the Talbot 12hp of 1919, a Talbot car which was never put on the market, quickly revised the ‘8/18’ Talbot car as the 10/23hp, which was more ‘English’ in that the Talbot car had a long, wide, roomy body, and a differential, with an enlarged bore and 1100cc to cope with the added weight.
From 1923 to 1926, the Talbot car company tried to exist on the ‘10/23’ Talbot car and a series of obscure small sixes of which few Talbot cars were made. The pre-war big four Talbot cars had been dropped, but nothing as popular had been found. Clement-Talbot cars were at a very low ebb when Georges Roesch saved them with a one-model policy, based on a small six of the type just becoming fashionable. However, the 14/45hp Talbot car was better than the rest because the Talbot car combined efficiency and high quality with comfort, roominess and smoothness. Considering all this, the price of the Talbot car was not high. It was, in fact, Roesch’s intention to provide the characteristics of the Rolls-Royce 20hp to the Talbot car but with half the engine size, weight and price. The cubic capacity was only 1665cc (61x95mm). The reciprocating parts, including the overhead valves, were very light, and the compression ratio was notably high, enabling revolutions and power output to be high also. Even so, the engine of the Talbot car was an unusual combination of silence and flexibility. The brakes were excellent, though it was suprising to find only quarter-elliptic springs at the rear of the Talbot car. The car’s main drawback was weight: bodies of these Talbot cars were very spacious, mounted on a deep, stiff but heavy frame with a long wheelbase. However, most Talbot car customers did not want ultra-high performance; the 60-65mph of the ‘14/45’ Talbot car was very good for such a large car with so small an engine.

The Talbot car company’s crisis had allowed no time for development, so the new Talbot car came straight off the drawing board to the public; but the Talbot car was so good in design that there were no major snags, and the Talbot car firm sold all they could make. The engine of the Talbot car was very difficult to work on without garage equipment, but the ‘14/45’ Talbot car was designed for replacement rather than repair of parts: another very modern, if not entirely desirable, feature. The design was obviously capable of great development, and during 1930 the first stages were announced – the Talbot 75 and 90. Both Talbot cars had the same size of engine; the ‘14/45’ Talbot car with an enlarged bore, providing 2¼ litres. The ‘75’ Talbot car was a touring model available alongside the ‘14/45’ to those who wanted a little more performance, while the ‘Talbot AM90’ was a more highly-tuned sports Talbot car, giving over 80mph with the same refinement. This Talbot car was sold in closed as well as open form, but the most handsome body was the standard sports tourer. Additionally, a cheaper Light Six 14/45 Talbot car with a shorter chassis was added at the lower end of the range.
With the ‘Talbot AM90’ began Talbot cars second lease of life as a distinguished sporting make. Third and fourth places in the Le Mans 24 Hour Race were followed by class wins of Talbot cars in the Irish Grand Prix, the Ulster Tourist Trophy Race and the Brooklands 500 Miles Race. In spring 1931 the Talbot 105 was introduced with a new, 75x112mm engine providing 3-litres. To improve the breathing, the valves were in a staggered arrangement instead of bing in line as hitherto. All types of body, from saloon to four-seater sports, were offered on this Talbot car chassis. The last Talbot car was a 100mph machine. The bigger engine of the Talbot car was difficult to start, in spite of assistance from two 12-volt batteries, for the starter was not geared down. It was no help when the optional Wilson self-changing gearbox was fitted from 1933. In competitions, the Talbot car name went from strength to strength. The ‘Talbot 105’ came 3rd in the Irish Grand Prix and at Le Mans, 4th in the Tourist Trophy and 2nd in the 500 Miles Race. A 105 tourer Talbot car took home a Coupe des Glaciers after a fault-free performance in the Alpine Trial. The Coupe des Alpes team prize was won in 1932 by Talbot 105s, and in that year came a 2nd place in the Brooklands 1000 Miles Race (which replaced the Double Twelve), and 3rd place at Le Mans and in the 500 Miles Race with a Talbot car.
These racing successes were won by Talbot cars prepared by Fox & Nicholl Ltd with works support; in spite of the fame and success of the Talbot car, the Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq group had been in financial trouble since 1930 and earlier, and racing was a luxury. At the end of 1932, however, Fox & Nicholl’s participation was discontinued and the great run of triumphs for Talbot cars ended. The normal production Talbot cars continued to do well. In 1932 the Talbot 65, a new model basically the same as the ‘14/45’, was announced. The ‘Talbot 95’, consisting of the ‘Talbot 105’ engine in a longer wheelbase for more sedate use, was introduced for 1933. In the following year Talbot cars with the self-changing gearbox were given a centrifugal clutch to avoid drag, and for 1935 there appeared the last developments of the standard type Talbot car, the ‘Talbot 110’. This superb Talbot car had a larger bore than the 105, giving 3½-litres. Early in 1935, however, Rootes gained control of Clement-Talbot. The ‘Talbot 65’ was dropped for 1936 in favour of the Rootes Talbot Ten, a Hillman Minx-based design, and by 1938 the last Roesch survivor, the ‘Talbot 110’ was gone.

Source: Georgano, encyclopedia of motorcar; TRN
The information is written with the greatest of care. However, if you have any suggested amendments please contact us at office@prewarcar.com