1965 Sunbeam Tiger MK1 Sport Roadster

This 1964 Sunbeam Tiger was built by the UK-based Alan Fraser Racing Team for the 1966 club racing season. Bernard Unett was recruited to pilot the car, and it was his #9 Lister-bodied Tiger coupe that donated its lightweight aluminum doors, hood, and trunk lid, as well as the rear suspension, to this 1965 Tiger. Additionally, it rides on Dunlop magnesium wheels, and has flared fenders and an aluminum hardtop. Equipped with a potent Ford V-8, this car was nicknamed the 'Monster.'

Competing in the 1966 UK club racing scene, this Sunbeam and its driver, Unett, achieved first in class and second overall in both the Autosport and Freddie W. Dixon Championships. The following year, the car was sent to the Canary Islands, where it was driven by Peter Harper through 1968 and later sold to the Equipo HH racing team.

Following several years of racing in Spain, the car was acquired by Ken Dalziel in the UK. Chris Gruys acquired the Sunbeam in 1982 and would be its caretaker for the next 38 years. While in Gruys's care, the Monster was returned to racing form, though it still retained the lightweight aluminum doors and rear suspension sourced from the Le Mans coupe.

In 1998, the car was refinished its present blue and white Scottish-themed livery by Steve Alcala and Dan Walters. The car originally housed a 289 cubic-inch Ford V8 engine, but in 2013, it was given a race-prepped 347-cubic-inch Ford V-8 built by Tony Oddo. Although it has higher displacement, it has the same overall exterior dimensions of the smaller V-8, which means that the original positioning of the exhaust system and other ancillaries has remained unaltered. The engine has four twin-choke Weber IDA carburetors and is paired with a four-speed manual gearbox.

In 2012, this Sunbeam received an FIA Historic Technical Passport, and it raced at the Goodwood Revival that year. Additionally, it has raced on several occasions at the Sonoma Historics.

The current owner purchased the car in 2020, and since that time, it has been given no-expense-spared mechanical servicing and maintenance.

By Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2024