1966 SUNBEAM TIGER MK1a

Sunbeam had a reputation for building cars that were pretty and desirable but not great drivers cars and certainly the USA market was not too keen on anything with a 4 cylinder engine and low power rating.

So Rootes Group took the plunge and engaged Carrol Shelby of Cobra fame to shoehorn the Ford 4.4 Litre V8 into the Alpine and develop it into an E Type competitor.

He had around 8 months to carry out the work and the driving set-up and development was carried out by the famous Brit Ken Miles for $800 who would go on to become one of the leading figures in the GT40 Campaign!

Jensen Motors were then tasked with building the car and it was launched at the New York Motor show in 1964 and several thousand were built until 1967.

This stunning example was delivered in the UK from new as Rhd in 1966 and is a rare MK1a version (25 cars built to this spec).

Only 6 owners the last one for 27 years who has maintained her well.

She was restored around 1995 and still presents well today and had a full engine rebuild in 2015 by V8 expert Dave Henning (2000 miles ago).

Sensible upgrades fitted are Pax adjustable shockers, alloy radiator ,elec fans, elec ignition and vented disc brakes etc. ensuring that she drives as well as she looks with reliability.

On the road, the V8 makes this into a very special drivers car with plenty of torque making high-speed cruising effortless and spirited cross-country drives great fun.

The Tiger has been neglected as a collectors car until more recently and now it is widely tipped to be a very good investment by classic car pundits with plenty of scope for growth due to low numbers and the rarity compared to most 1960s British sportscars.

Supplied fully inspected, serviced with 12 months warranty.