1961 Sunbeam Alpine Series II
A Series II Sunbeam Alpine prepared for circuit racing, finished in Dove Grey with Burgundy Shelby-style stripes and a Sebring-style alloy hardtop. The car is built around a 1,890cc four-cylinder engine developed from the Sunbeam Holbay 1,725cc unit, featuring a full lightening and balancing treatment, twin 45 DCOE Weber carburettors, and a Ford Escort four-speed SCCR gearbox with limited-slip differential. Comprehensively equipped for competition, it is eligible for the HSCC Historic Road Sports Championship Invitation Class.
Ownership
- 2025-02-22Auction saleSold £11,000 (≈ $14K)
- Date unknownPrivate saleCurrent vendorpartial documentation
A retired rally car engine builder who acquired the Alpine intending to race it alongside his son. After an engine failure on the first test day, he rebuilt the engine himself using his professional expertise. He has since decided circuit racing is not for him and is consigning the car to auction.
Competition
No competition history extracted from the catalogue.
Maintenance & restoration
- —Engine rebuild
Following an engine failure during the car's first test outing, the vendor rebuilt the four-cylinder unit to a high specification: capacity enlarged to 1,890cc from the Holbay 1,725cc base, fully lightened and balanced internals with steel connecting rods and forged pistons, fed by twin 45 DCOE Weber carburettors and exhausted via a tubular manifold. Pre-rebuild dyno output was recorded at 160bhp.
Rebuild carried out by the vendor, a professional rally car engine builder. The car has since covered only a couple of hundred road miles and has not been used in competition since.
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