Produced by the British Rootes Group, the Sunbeam Tiger is a high-performance, twice as powerful, V8 version of the Sunbeam Alpine Roadster, designed in part by American car designer and racing driver Carroll Shelby and produced from 1964 until 1967. The assembly work was contracted to Jensen at West Bromwich in England. Shelby was paid a royalty on every car produced.
The Sunbeam factory only ever designated two series of the Tiger, the Series I and Series II, but as the official Series I production spanned the change in body style from the Series IV Alpine panels to the Series V panels, the later Series I cars are generally designated Series IA by Sunbeam Tiger enthusiasts. The Series I Tiger was fitted with the 260 cu in (4.3 L) Ford V8.
The Series II Tiger, fitted with the larger Ford 289 cu in (4.7 L) V8, was intended exclusively for export to America and was never marketed in the UK. Only 633 of the Series II Tigers were built in the final year of production.
Production ended in 1967 soon after the Rootes Group was taken over by Chrysler, which did not have a suitable engine to replace the Ford V8. Owing to the ease and affordability of modifying the Tiger, there are few surviving cars in standard form. (wikipedia)
Series I Sunbeam Tiger (1964-66)
Powered by a 260 cu in (4.3 L) Ford V8. Produced 164 bhp (122 kW) @ 4400 rpm, sufficient to give the car a 0–60 mph (97 km/h) time of 8.6 seconds and a top speed of 120 mph (190 km/h). 6450 copies were made.
Series II Sunbeam Tiger (1966-67)
Powered by a Ford 289 cu in (4.7 L) V8 which improved the Tiger's 0–60 mph (97 km/h) time to 7.5 seconds, and increased the top speed to 122 mph (196 km/h). Can be identified by their egg-crate grille. Only 633 copies were made exclusively for export to America.
(Photos from automobilemag.com, forristalls.com, rmauctions.com,
car-from-uk.com & autowp.ru)
car-from-uk.com & autowp.ru)
