Sunbeam Tiger Is The British Shelby Cobra That Could Have Been

2023年10月15日,13点等 byCesar Miguel Classic Cars /2 Comments

At the present day, it fetches a far less commanding price tag too.

虽然我们都知道谢尔比眼镜蛇是一个传奇,一个similar car called the Sunbeam Tiger was a potent alternative despite being nearly forgotten by history.

Built by the Rootes Group from 1964 to 1967, the Tiger was a V8-powered, two-door, two-seater coupe like the Shelby Cobra and theBritish-built AC Cobra. At the end of its life cycle, the Tiger used a 4.7-liter Ford V8 similar to its rival. At the most, the Tiger Mark II version, sold in the United States in 1967, made 210 horsepower. Power was sent to its rear wheels via a Borg-Warner 4-speed manual gearbox.

It is interesting to note that the Sunbeam Tiger could have shared some DNA with the Cobra. Before being dubbed the Sunbeam Tiger, it was initially known as the Alpine. The latter, however, was underpowered and needed a new powertrain, prompting the Rootes Group to approach Ford for help.

The result was early prototypes developed by none other than British-born Motorsports Hall of Fame of America awardee racer Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby, the father of theMustang Shelby GT500and the Shelby Daytona Coupe.

Initially, Lord Rootes, the Founder of the Rootes Group, accepted the Tiger project, but that's before becoming grumpy about it occurring without his knowledge and approval. Experts on the Sunbeam, like Graham Robson, further noted that the British nobleman was uneasy with how close Shelby was to Ford.

As a result, the company opted to build the production version in the UK, with Shelby having less control over the operation. Instead, Jensen Motors in West Bromwich was given the contract to produce the first versions of the Tiger.

While arguably similar in execution to the Cobra, the Sunbeam Tiger is more pliable for daily driving. This contrasts Shelby's other products, designed as an all-out sports car with few amenities. Meanwhile, the coupe from the Rootes Group had plenty of pleasantries, like a fancy wood steering wheel and wood trim on the dash. It even had a radio and a telescopic steering wheel.

As a result of being plusher, though, the Tiger was heavier than the Cobra. The Tiger Mark II had a curb weight of 2,654 pounds, while the Shelby Cobra weighed 2,355 lbs. The Cobra's V8 also had a more aggressive tune, which, for its street-legal 1965 version, made 355 hp. To this end, it is no surprise that the Shelby Roadster had more racing accolades than the Tiger.

Despite that, the Sunbeam Tiger does have some racing pedigree. It entered the Geneva Rally, Monte Carlo Rally, and Scottish Rally in 1965. In those events, the Tiger won first place. More importantly, the Sunbeam Tiger Mark II, sold in the US, was the American Hot Rod Association national record holder within its class for two years. During this period, the car could run aquarter-mile dragin 12.95 seconds at 108 mph.

Regrettably, only 633 of the US-market Mark II coupes were made. The original Tiger had a larger production number of around 7,000 units, but only a few made it stateside. So yeah, it is rare to see one in good running condition nowadays, which will cost you at least $90,000.

That's a hefty price tag, but at least it's cheaper than thebrand-new Cobra CSX10000, starting at a whopping $239,000.