Sunbeam-Talbots: enthusiasts rally round

By the time the 90 MkII arrived in 1951, with its supplementary air intakes and higher-set lights, people were beginning to take the car seriously as a competition tool, with Rootes’ publicity department milking the results: a class win on the French Alpine Rally in 1948, plus the Team Prize and second overall in the Rallye Monte-Carlo in 1949 and 1950 were certainly worth shouting about.

And all of this before big-name drivers such as Stirling Moss, Sheila van Damm, Leslie Johnson, Peter Harper, John Fitch and other ‘guest’ pilots were rolled out to begin cementing the marque’s reputation as a force to be reckoned with.

Against exotic foreign competition, these plucky Brits showed that resilience and reliability could win the day even in the most adverse weather, when supported by the great works team planning of Norman Garrad and top driving talent.

Sports saloons, Drophead Coupés, Specials and more gathered at this Sunbeam-Talbot meet

The time was ripe to promote a car such as the Sunbeam.

With the Continent opening up as a holiday destination, so the commercial effects began to be felt on Rootes showroom floors.

Buyers linked the romance of these competition adventures with an evidently reliable British product that any tweed-jacketed ’50s motorists could take confidently on a driving holiday through Switzerland or across France, and stand a chance of getting themselves there and back under their own steam.

Later, much was made of the fuel-, rev- and wear-reducing benefits of overdrive on the Sunbeams for use on the high-speed Continental autobahnen and autostrade.

The product itself was directly improved by the experiences harvested on those gruelling endurance rallies.

‘Sunny Jim’, Peter Finch’s Sunbeam-Talbot 90 Special, was built by David Bevan in the 1960s using a 1930s Lagonda LG45 body

The 90 MkII had a Humber-derived 2267cc engine, a beefier chassis and independent front suspension.

It would top 80mph as standard (still as a sports saloon with sunroof, or a Drophead), and went even better as the 1952-’54 MkIIA with improved steering and brakes (rear spats were out, vented wheels in), and latterly a higher-compression 77bhp engine.

Rootes simplified the marketing message by dropping the Talbot name on the 1955-’57 Sunbeam MkIII, complete with bonnet portholes and optional overdrive.

Although beginning to look rather tall and narrow, even by high-scuttled mid-’50s standards, these are widely considered the best of breed.

Here was a £1200 four-seater with good brakes, 93mph potential and amenities directly influenced by rallying experience – adjustable front-seat backrests, effective heating and ventilation – that were rare to find at any price 70 years ago.

This Sunbeam Alpine ‘RHP’ team car has original rally plates below its foglights

Rootes supplemented the saloon with the Sunbeam Alpine, inspired by a Special built in 1951/’52 by Bournemouth dealer and works team driver George Hartwell.

A two-seater with Plexiglas sidescreens (and luggage room in its elegant tail for two sets of American golf clubs), the 1953-’55 Alpine was based on a beefed-up MkIIA chassis and powered by an 80bhp version of the saloon engine.

Left-hand-drive only at first, British deliveries began in 1954, the year overdrive was standardised.

A straight-through exhaust and quicker steering box were the only concessions to a sporting character, but it was no sports car really: at 3000lb, the Alpine was barely quicker than the saloon, but the image-boosting properties of its shape were undeniable.

The Sunbeam Alpine isn’t super-fast, but it builds speed easily

Total sales of 1582 units were deemed acceptable, given that production of the sports saloon on which it was based was about to dry up.

Of those, 961 went to North America, with 445 cars for the home market and the remainder as ‘rest of the world’ sales.

Alpine bodies were semi-handbuilt alongside the Drophead Coupés at Thrupp & Maberly, so sales were never going to be huge; around 200 are left today.

As well as being immortalised by its appearance in Alfred Hitchcock’s To Catch a Thief (with Grace Kelly driving, in an inspired piece of Rootes product placement), the Alpine now formed the bulk of the Rootes works rally team, with cars registered MKV 21 to MKV 26.

Sheila van Damm earned the Coupe des Dames first time out in the Alpine of 1953 in MKV 25; in the ’54 event, driving MKV 21, Stirling Moss took his third consecutive Coupe des Alpes (for no loss of marks), winning him the Gold Cup.

The Sunbeam Alpine’s immaculate cabin is period-correct in every detail

Warming to this highly marketable theme of success, the budget was found for a further six works cars, registered RHP 700 to RHP 705, for the 1955 Alpine Rally.

But when the French authorities cancelled the event following that year’s Le Mans disaster, the cars were deemed surplus to Rootes’ publicity requirements, mainly because they were about to be replaced by the first of the monocoque Rapiers.

With the Alpine soon to become obsolete, the ‘RHP’ team cars were sold into the trade.

“Mine went to a dealer in Glasgow,” says the current owner of RHP 700, Isle of Wight-based enthusiast Jonathan Braim, whom we caught up with during STAR25, the Sunbeam Talbot Alpine Register’s National Rally in July.

“He campaigned it for two or three years before selling it privately.”

The Sunbeam Alpine has a tripmeter below the heater controls

Later, the Silvermist Alpine (the same colour as the Grace Kelly big-screen car) went to auction and at some point was sold to a journalist who drove it around London during the 1980s.

After that it ended up with an arms dealer who, according to Jonathan, “sold rockets to the wrong people”, and from him it went into a Bonhams sale.

“The cars were just built to finish,” says Jonathan, who, encouraged and assisted by his wife, Jinny, has painstakingly returned the car to its works look and specification.

“This one only survived, I think, because it missed out on doing the Alpine Rally. We have really gone through the car – I’m on my third gearbox rebuild, hopefully the last!”

The Braims do about 2500 miles a year in the car, attending events. “The engine is a cast-iron boat anchor,” he continues, “but the gearbox is a weak point.”

The ‘RHP’ Sunbeam Alpine’s engine is blueprinted but not extensively tuned

The works ’box is still fitted, with overdrive on every gear: it worked out well for Moss when he lost two direct gears on MKV 21 and tricked the Alpine Rally organisers into thinking all of the ratios worked by engaging overdrive on the two gears he had left.

The works cars had a column shift, which Jonathan’s car unusually retains. “They rotated the gearbox through 180°, with a cable operating the gears and an electric Laycock overdrive,” he says.

On the front are original number and rally plates, the foglights van Damm considered essential (Garrad wanted to ditch them to save weight) and a rare RAC badge only issued to licensed competition drivers.

The works Alpines ran in anger with bonnets on the safety catch for airflow (the cooling slats were of little use) but restrained, as here, by a leather strap.

The Sunbeam Alpine steers positively, despite a large wheel, and communicates its limits well

Under the bonnet sits a tall, non-crossflow four-pot with its oil dipstick painted white.

The massive, period-correct positive-earth battery sits high against the bulkhead; the air cleaner atop the big Zenith carburettor is almost comically tiny.

A Smiths heater – also insisted on by van Damm, to clear the ’screen – is in evidence, plus a lot of belt-and-braces duplication, with two coils located in a cool flow of ambient air, twin Zenith fuel filters, and spare bulbs and spark plugs.

Jonathan adds: “Jinny found some super-rare Zenith Z1 fuel filters at the NEC autojumble. Rolls-Royce Phantom I owners would sell their grandmothers for them.”

In the well-stocked boot there is much else besides, including twin spare wheels and a 20-gallon endurance fuel tank on wooden trestles – an acknowledgment that the stages were getting longer.

The Sunbeam Alpine’s boot is filled with spares – just as it was in period

The original sat under the boot floor; Jonathan had this one recreated in aluminium to original specification, with the correct ‘Monza’ filler cap.

He spent years tracking down the right type of Swedish hydraulic jack carried by the works cars and even found proper period snowchains, still in their box.

“They carried as many spares as reasonably possible,” he says. “You weren’t allowed to accept outside help on the event.”

The Humber Hawk-derived engines proved resistant to extensive tuning, beyond balancing and blueprinting.

The Sunbeam Alpine’s bucket seats save cabin space

“Twin carbs were tried,” says Jonathan, “but they leaned off and went out of balance at high altitudes.

“They put on a dirty great Zenith and found it worked better, sitting above the exhaust manifold but with a heat shield.”

Less easy to see is the gusseting around the steering column and chassis protection underneath, needed to get the Alpine to the end of the toughest European rally in one piece.

With the hood raised, the co-driver can operate most of the controls, which include an advance/retard ignition lever for high altitudes, Les Leston trip-timer clocks (Lancaster bomber war surplus) atop the open glovebox lid and a Halda tripmeter under the huge heater unit.

The bonnet is quite imposingly long, while the tapering tail disappears abruptly through the slot-like rear window of the hood.

‘Wakey Wakey’ pills helped ‘RHP’ team drivers stay awake during tough competitions

On its booming straight-through exhaust, the Alpine gallops up the road on the torque of a big ‘four’, whose underlying thump is subdued but unmistakable.

The big, white sprung wheel ties in well with the upbeat look of the half-circle speedo and scattered ivory switchgear.

You sit quite close to it, anticipating Hendon Police Training College-style wheel-feeding, although it is more positive than that – high-geared without being overly hefty.

It telegraphs the modest limits and benign intentions of both axles quite well.

Without using conspicuous amounts of revs or low gears, you build speed rapidly but are not particularly conscious of the acceleration.

The Sunbeam Alpine’s period Michelin guide

You can’t rush the column change, but neither is it obstructive nor sloppy, and the strong pull in direct and overdrive top means you don’t use the clutch all that much.

First is unsynchronised, but second suffices for brisk pull-aways and you can play all sorts of tunes on the overdrive to keep the acceleration flowing. The generously sized brakes are strong and balanced.

“We met some lovely people who helped us get the car to where it is now,” says Jonathan. “Somebody even found the original type of compass in a garage clearance.”

Jonathan had the superb bucket seats made by a company in Lancashire to original specification, trimmed in what was the very last roll of railway carriage-type scrubbable cloth, again just as the car would have been when the event was cancelled in 1955.

This Sunbeam Alpine was reupholstered with this last-of-its-kind trim

The seats free up room compared with the original, outsized chairs, and they feature satchels on the backrests to keep maps, tickets and paperwork tidy.

1950s flasks – lovingly restored by Jonathan – sit beside each seat, there’s a first-aid kit of the day and what looks like early NHS/Carry On Matron-style towelling, presumably for mopping fevered 1950s brows.

There is even a period clipboard, like you might have seen Garrad brandishing.

Perhaps the finishing touch is the packet of Benzedrine pills in a dashboard cubbyhole, the infamous ‘Wakey Wakey’ tablets that kept drivers alert on long-haul events.

In her book No Excuses, van Damm talks about having an out-of-body experience after downing too many.

‘You can’t rush the column change, but neither is it sloppy, and you can play tunes on the overdrive to keep the acceleration flowing’

To keep him on his toes, Moss had a picture of his Windmill Theatre chorus-line girlfriend attached to the dash of his Alpine, but RHP 700 was prepared for a less well-known guest driver called Jimmy Ray.

“He went on to rally the Reliant Sabre with Raymond Baxter,” says Jonathan, “and he won the 1955 RAC Rally in a Standard 10. His prize was a picnic set!”

The 1950s was a very different world.

Jonathan Braim’s ‘RHP’ team car was just one of the fantastic classics at the STAR25 gathering. Here are some of the others…

1956 Sunbeam MkIII: Chris Derbyshire

Chris Derbyshire’s Sunbeam MkIII is still used for competition

“I bought PWK 605, an ex-works rally car, in 1986. I was already a member of the Historic Rally Car Register, and it was looking for period competition cars.

“Most people knew where the Healeys and the Minis were, but not these. It was found in a barn in Wales in 1985 and acquired by Peter Harper, the original driver.

“A year later it came up for sale again and I bought it. I wanted a ’60s car, but my whole world changed when I bought this.

“I had never restored a car before, but loads of people helped and we had it on the road in 1994. I still go to the pub with the guy who did all the welding.

“I have done some regularity events and came fourth in the first one we entered – I used to work for Ordnance Survey, which helped!

“By the end of the season, we were first in class and placed sixth overall against Minis, MG Midgets and all sorts.”

Period modifications reveal this Sunbeam MkIII was an ex-works rally car

“The car has been back to Monte Carlo twice and did a lot of the original course – I just wanted to go where they had been in period,” adds Chris. “It has been a privilege to own it.”

“The passenger has a giant headrest, and the seat reclines. They had three people in the car for the 1956 Monte: one sleeping, one driving, one navigating.

“It’s got a vacuum gauge rather than a rev counter.

“I asked Peter Harper what they did to them to make them go better and he said ‘nothing’ – they just took them off the production line and built them properly.”

1939 Talbot 4-Litre: James Rickards

James Rickards’ Talbot 4-Litre has been part of his family for decades

“My grandfather bought the Talbot in 1944, when it was five years old. It was a Rootes demonstrator, and they were selling them cheap to get them out of London.

“He sold it in 1952, then my uncle found it again in Exchange & Mart in 1970. He got it for £100 and sold it to my father for £110! It’s been in the family ever since.

“It was my grandfather’s everyday car, and my father and uncle would sit on the roof to watch the cricket.”

This Talbot 4-Litre was a Rootes demonstrator

“It’s basically a Humber Super Snipe underneath, with a Thrupp & Maberly body: it’s a complete Rootes invention,” James explains.

“It features hard and soft adjustable dampers, and we have spent a lot of time sorting the suspension and steering.

“There is only 100bhp, so you just plod along at 55mph – it dies a bit on hills, but I enjoy driving it.

“The car is mostly original, even the paintwork – ‘a good 10-footer’, as my dad used to say.”

1957 Sunbeam MkIII: Hugh Crabtree

Hugh Crabtree’s Sunbeam MkIII took six years to restore

“I have the original invoice from when my father bought this car in 1959 – he part-exchanged a 1953 Sunbeam-Talbot 90, paying a net £250.

“They were pricey in their day but held their value. My father took TVO off the road in 1966 and put it into storage because he thought it would appreciate.

“He based this view on the success Rootes was having at the time in rallies. The Alpine is now doing well price-wise and Drophead Coupés are on the climb, but saloons like mine still languish below £10k.

“My father and I rescued it from storage in 1985, and it was given to me as a wedding present.”

This Sunbeam MkIII is helping to share the fun of 1950s classics with the next generation

“My storage arrangements were less kind to the car, and it was in a sorry state by the time restoration started in 2008, undertaken by David Sloan in Kent,” remembers Hugh.

“My wife asked me how we could afford such a project; I said that, as we had put our daughters through university and our son had gone straight to work from school, it was for him!

“The work was completed in 2014, but tragically we lost our son later that year so I now have to train my daughters in the joys of 1950s motoring and car maintenance.

“TVO has since completed two 2500-mile tours in Europe, and I am preparing it for the 2026 Rallye Monte-Carlo Historique. If our entry is accepted, that will be quite an adventure.”

1953 Sunbeam-Talbot 90 MkIIA: Brian Coles

Brian Coles’ Sunbeam-Talbot 90 MkIIA was discovered in a local barn

“I used to be a farmer, and I went with a colleague to a neighbouring farm to get some straw out of one of their barns.

“I went in and thought, ‘I’m standing on something tinny here.’ The farmer said, ‘Yeah, that’s my father’s old car, it uses too much bloody petrol, so I shoved it in here. You can have it for £50.’

“That was in about 1970 – it wasn’t a classic then, it was just a spare car that we could use. 

“Following that it was on and off the road for years. Then I got it going properly for the Golden Jubilee in 2019 after it hadn’t moved for 10 years.

“In just six weeks we had it running and drove it from Frome to Warwick with no problems. I’ve never done the paint, though.”

1951 Sunbeam-Talbot 90 Drophead Coupé: Tony & Pauline Blake

Tony (left) and Pauline Blake’s Sunbeam-Talbot 90 Drophead Coupé starred in a TV role

“We bought the Drophead 15 years ago from Derek Mathewson,” says Tony. “We also have a saloon as well. We live in south Derbyshire and go all over the place in it – to Scotland, Devon, Wales, even Belgium.

“It hasn’t got overdrive, although I guess I could put one in. I do lorry speeds on the motorway, but we try to avoid them because we like to have the top down if the weather is good.

“It turns 74 this year, but it really doesn’t seem that old, and we go shopping in it regularly. It’s quite practical, and it’s better to use these cars rather than leave them standing.”

“The Drophead had a role in Father Brown, which is filmed in the Cotswolds,” he continues. “It was driven by a character called Bunty and was in the show for three years.

“One of my claims to fame is that I showed Wanda Ventham – Benedict Cumberbatch’s mother – how to drive it. She took to it quite well.”

1930 Talbot 75: James Wheildon

James Wheildon and his globe-trotting 1930 Talbot 75

“I owned a 1934 Talbot 95 for many years. A good friend had a Talbot 90 Brooklands team-car replica, and we did the Mille Miglia in ’84 in that.

“On the way back we were thinking about what to do next and flippantly decided, ‘We’ll drive around the world’.

“In 1986 we saw an advert in Motor Sport for a drive to Sydney in 1988 for the Australian bicentennial; it was for pre-1931 cars.

“We had to prove which way we had made the trip: if we took the final crossing south of the equator, we had to do a tour of the major Australian cities; if we went over north of the equator, we only had to drive from Perth to Sydney. So we decided to take the route across Africa.”

This 1930 Talbot 75 has been to Australia

“We built the car from a heap of spares. The trip took 84 days, sleeping in tents for 35 of them, and we did 9867 miles. It was cold in the Sahara in January, with ice in our water.

“We had a route devised for us on the basis that a Series One Land-Rover could do it, but it was hard work with only two-wheel drive and we got stuck in the sand so many times.

“We soon learned in Zaire that five-year-old children could light a fire much better than we could. We had some wonderful times: in Nigeria we camped in the bush, and when we woke in the morning we found we had pitched the tent next to a sign that said ‘Beware – Elephants’.”

James’ 1930 Talbot 75 isn’t a pristine show car – and he intends to keep it that way

“I never had a cross word with co-driver Paul or even needed a sticking plaster,” adds James.

“Only six cars took part in the end: the others were a Lancia Lambda, two Model A Fords, a Morris Cowley and a Vauxhall 14/40.

“Since then, I’ve done the Monte Carlo Challenge and Le Jog.

“It’s a 2.3-litre six-cylinder, with 75bhp, and I’ve done more than 100,000 miles in it now, which is why it’s a rough old wreck. I could have rebuilt it into something a bit smarter, but anyone can have a shiny car.”

Images: Jack Harrison

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Martin Buckley

Senior Contributor, Classic & Sports Car