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Sunbeam Alpine in (historical) test - The civilized lion

Name: Sunbeam Alpine 1959
Brand: Sunbeam

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Created on April 1, 1960

Text:

Olaf von Fersen

Photos:

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Sunbeam Alpine at the 1960 Geneva Motor Show - The roadster looks good, but how does it drive?

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Open and closed, for him and for her - this brochure illustration shows the Sunbeam Alpine in colorful and cheerful surroundings.

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Sunbeam Alpine (1963) - pretty and elegant convertible

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Two strong arguments in favor of the Sunbeam Alpine are its unexpected economy and the optional high-speed gear, which allows you to regulate propulsion at the flick of a finger.

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - Departure for the test drive on Goodwood Test Day

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Sunbeam Alpine (1961) - more engine capacity and many bodywork improvements at the beginning of the sixties

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - the new 1.5-liter sports car

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - Presentation at the London Motor Show 1959

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - with hardtop at the Frankfurt IAA 1959

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Sunbeam Alpine (1961) - with 86 hp at 5000 rpm

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - charmingly presented hardtop version

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - early press photo

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - with "fixed top"

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - impressive example of a British car design

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - with mounted hardtop, in the background with open softtop

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The all-weather soft top fulfills its purpose perfectly, the hardtop is only worth its 960 DM to a limited extent.

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Sunbeam Alpine (1961) - for the gentleman and the lady

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Due to the low-mounted seats, a certain degree of agility is required to sit in the Alpine. This photo shows an example from 1961.

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Sunbeam Alpine (1961) - Cockpit of the left-hand drive version

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Sunbeam Alpine (1961) - View of the interior

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The cockpit raises no questions, the steering wheel and pedals are in the right place.

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Sunbeam Alpine on a test drive in 1961 - The optional high-speed gear makes it possible to regulate propulsion at the flick of a finger.

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On Goodwood Test Day 1959, comfort took its toll and caused the Sunbeam and its crew to lean.

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From a technical point of view, the Alpine is a "platform product". Apart from a few adaptations, it shares its engine with many models from the Rootes Group, while the floor assembly comes from the Hillman Husky Station Wagon.

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Sunbeam Alpine (1961) - A look under the hood

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At the 1960 Geneva Motor Show, the drive unit could be examined in detail. The in-line four-cylinder engine was characterized by its elasticity and economy, but it was not silent.

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - View of the differential

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Sunbeam Alpine (1961) - with closed sprayhood during test drives

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One of the few flaws of the Sunbeam Alpine: the storage of the spare wheel takes up a lot of space in the rear, as this photo from 1961 shows.

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - flattering drawing

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Sunbeam Alpine (1959) - drawing of the hardtop version

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The answer is probably: No! This US advertisement from 1962 refers to the Alpine's motorsport successes as well as its comfortable equipment and good manners.

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Summary

In the course of the fifties and sixties, man learned to domesticate the sports car. One of these tame road robbers was produced by the Rootes Group and was called the Sunbeam Alpine. The pretty convertible was intended to combine temperament and comfort and also be easy on the wallet. Did it succeed? This article quotes a test report from 1960 and shows the versatile car in historical photos and sales material.

This article contains the following chapters

The Alpine is a "modular car"
Three cars in one
Three particularly pleasing components
The lion is lamblike
From the female perspective

Estimated reading time: 15min

Preview (beginning of the article)

Sports car fans are not always young people. Some people who drive a sedate black limousine today hide an unquenched longing for a real sports car in a very private corner of their heart. Whether it's because they're dwelling on their memories of the "golden decade" of the sports car from 1929-1939, or because they're unconsciously mourning their youth in these vehicles, which actually amounts to the same thing. What a sports car actually is cannot be defined so easily, because the spectacles of the observer are cut differently. And if you stone me now: I think the essential characteristic of a sports car is that it was created to serve the pleasure of fast driving. "Fast" remains a relative term that depends on the buyer's wallet.

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