By Classic Yorkshire contributor Tony Lofthouse
Much has been written over the years about the appeal of British sports cars from the sixties, such as the MG, but less is made of another two-door beauty built by the long gone Rootes Group.
The Sunbeam Alpine was launched in 1959 and developed over five series until the car maker was bought out by Chrysler in the late sixties.
The Rootes model followed the short-lived success of the original Alpine, made under the Sunbeam-Talbot name between 1953 and 1955.
Aside from its snappy looks, the sixties Alpine came from humble beginnings. It was made from the floorpan of a Hillman Husky estate.
The car was aimed at the lucrative US market and ranged from a 1,494cc engine (Series 1) to the 1,725cc engine found in the Series 5.
It is the Series 5 model that is the pick of the range.
Faced with competition from a glut of mid-priced roadsters at the time, this little Sunbeam was given a handy sales boost in 1962 when 007 (aka Sean Connery) drove a Lake Blue example in the first Bond film, Dr No.
Bond’s Series 2 Alpine was fitted with a 1.6 litre engine capable of reaching 100mph.
Over eight years, Rootes produced nearly 70,000 Alpines including 9,122 of the Series 5 version.
Ever conscious of the lucrative US market, the company also produced a more muscly version of the Alpine – called the Sunbeam Tiger – between 1964 and 1967. Early models were fitted with a high performance 4.3 litre V8 Ford engine and later examples received a 4.7 litre Ford unit.
Today, prices for a fully restored Series 4 or 5 Alpine can top £20,000 – not a bad mark-up when you consider they sold for about £1,000 in 1965. Prices for a good condition Tiger can reach double the Alpine.