1954 Sunbeam Alpine Sport Roadster

The Rootes Group acquired Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq in 1935. In 1953, at the urging of a Sunbeam-Talbot dealer named George Hartwell, the company introduced the Alpine, a one-off rally car designed to compete ate the Monte Carlo and Alpine rallies in Europe. The Alpine Special was powered by a 2267cc Mk I engine, albeit with an 8.0:1 compression ratio. It included an alloy rocker cover and Siamese exhaust ports, along with a special induction manifold fitted with a twin-choke Solex carburetor. The engine offered nearly 100 horsepower.

Between 1953 and 1955, just 1,582 Alpines were produced, of which 921 were exported to the United States and Canada. It is believed that fewer than 100 were equipped with the specially modified 'Special' engines, and of those, 42 were produced with left-hand drive. Each car was hand-built in the U.K. by Thrupp & Maberly.

A fleet of Sunbeam Alpines was sent to the United States in the mid-1950s to participate in the Great American Mountain Rally. This particular example was shipped to the United States on March 22, 1954, and is believed to have been part of that endeavor, although this car was never raced. It was purchased by Patrick Vanson in 1955 and then driven on a 6,000-mile tour of the United States. Before returning to Europe the following year, it was sold.

This example was the only Alpine painted black at the factory. Standard Alpine colors included Alpine Mist, Coronation Red, Ivory, and Sapphire Blue.

Bill Landefeld acquired the car in 1961 for his daughter to commute to college. The current caretaker was a farmhand on the Landefeld family farm in Unionville, Pennsylvania, It was stored in a barn in 1970 and there it sat until 2000, when it was decided to restore the car for the daughter's 50th birthday. The restoration, a full, body-off project, was performed by Steve Cota of Lyme Pond Restoration in Barnard, Vermont.

The car has 43,000 original miles and it retains the original four-speed column shifter with overdrive. The interior and top have been completely redone with original-style leather upholstery and mohair top.

Since the time the restoration work was completed, this car has been shown at the 2007 Lars Anderson British Automobile Show, earning 1st place, and at the 2007 British Invasion Show in Stowe, Vermont, earning 2nd place in the Concours d'Elegance division.

This car has an overhead-valve four-cylinder engine fitted with a twin-choke Solex carburetor and developing 97.5 horsepower. There is a four-speed column-shift manual transmission with overdrive and four-wheel drum brakes.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2015