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1964 Sunbeam Tiger Mk1

The Sunbeam Tiger was not the first British sports car to utilize an American V8 engine for power, nor even the first to use Ford’s 260 cubic-inch V8 for the purpose. Carroll Shelby had met with much success with the same transplant into an AC Ace in 1962, creating the Cobra. In 1964, the Rootes Group, Sunbeam’s corporate parent, sought to inject more power into its cute but slow four-cylinder Sunbeam Alpine, introduced in 1959. They used the 164-horsepower Ford 260, and the Tiger was born. While they were raced with success in European rally competition, Tigers became well known in the US for their drag-racing performance, turning a recorded quarter-mile time of 12.95 seconds at 108 mph. This car is a Tiger Series Mk I, and is equipped with the optional factory removable hardtop and rare LAT alloy wheels, a product of L.A. Tigers, a well-known period California aftermarket supplier of Tiger performance products. This is a 10,280-mile car from new, with original paint, interior and running gear.