Beschreibung
For sale by auction on Saturday 22nd July 2023 with Historics auctions.
Registration FKE 403C
Chassis Number B9472823HR0
Estimate £45000-£50000
Sunbeam had a reputation for building cars that were pretty and desirable but not great drivers cars and certainly the USA market was not too keen on anything with a four-cylinder engine and low power rating. So Rootes Group took the plunge and engaged Carrol Shelby of Cobra fame to shoehorn the Ford 4. 4 Litre V8 into the Alpine and develop it into an E-Type competitor. He had around eight months to carry out the work and the driving set-up and development was carried out by the famous Brit Ken Miles for $800 who would go on to become one of the leading figures in the GT40 Campaign! Jensen Motors were then tasked with building the car and it was launched at the New York Motor show in 1964 and several thousand were built until 1967.
This stunning example is presented in light blue with a black hood and black interior. It was delivered in the UK from new as right hand drive in May 1965 and is a Mk. I version. It was restored several years ago and still presents superbly today. Sensible upgrades fitted at this time were alloy radiator, electric fans, electric ignition and vented disc brakes etc. ensuring that it drives as well as it looks with reliability. On the road, the V8 makes this into a very special driver's car with plenty of torque making high-speed cruising effortless and spirited cross-country drives great fun. The Tiger has been neglected as a collector's car until more recently and now it is widely tipped to be a very good investment by classic car pundits with plenty of scope for growth due to low numbers and the rarity compared to most 1960s British sportscars.
