{"id":59575,"date":"2021-01-11T16:10:47","date_gmt":"2021-01-11T16:10:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.secret-classics.com\/?p=59575"},"modified":"2021-01-15T19:55:34","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T19:55:34","slug":"sunbeam-tiger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.secret-classics.com\/en\/sunbeam-tiger\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunbeam Tiger"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

American V8 engines in an English roadster – only available in the Cobra! Right? Wrong! But interestingly, the inventor of the Cobra also had something to do with this project. Because if we leave the Rover V8 engine out of the equation for a moment, even though it was originally an American design by Buick, there was one other product in particular to which the above attributes applied. The Rootes Group wanted a more powerful version of the Sunbeam Alpine. This two-seater roadster is familiar to movie fans from the very first James Bond film ‘Dr. No’ from 1962.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ferrari development rejected<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In the same year, the Australian racing driver Jack Brabham suggested installing a V8 engine in the Alpine. Prior to this, the Rootes Group had already asked Ferrari whether the previous inline four-cylinder could be reworked. It was hoped that the additional title ‘Powered by Ferrari’ would lead to higher sales figures. However, the negotiations failed. So Brabham’s proposal came at just the right time. The company lacked the financial resources to develop its own V8 engine. Instead, the head of the Rootes Group’s motorsport department, Norman Garrad, gave his son Ian the task of organizing a suitable engine. Ian Garrad was working as the sales manager of Rootes Group on the American West Coast at the time. He used a wooden stick to measure the empty engine compartment of a Sunbeam Alpine. Then he sent his service manager, Walter McKenzie, to surrounding dealerships to find a suitable unit.<\/p>\n\n\n

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