The Sunbeam Tiger has it all—Ford V-8 power in a classic British roadster, plus a strong Carroll Shelby connection. And yet, for decades, it remained in the shadow of the AC Cobra. Those have ascended into the stratosphere, but the Tiger is now making its own claim for prominence. Case in point: the gorgeous 1965 Sunbeam Tiger now for sale on eBay.
The Tiger has a brand-new interior.
The 289 isn’t original to the car, but many buyers will welcome it being there.
This 1965 car was not only done right but is fully documented in photography and description. It’s on eBay in Thousand Oaks, Calif., with an $89,000 Buy It Now. It’s not surprising that this Tiger has dozens of watchers.
The current owner bought what was a very nice running and driving Tiger from its 30-year Texas owner in 2015. Since then, he made it into a lovely example. It’s not a Concours candidate because a 289 V-8 has replaced the original 260. The engine swap will be welcomed by many potential buyers because it adds plenty of power. The car is truly turnkey.
The list of new parts is huge. It includes the aforementioned 289 rebuilt with Hi-Po heads and Edelbrock carb by the Duffin Brothers in Texas. Plus, these goodies:
- A matching rebuilt (by David Kee) four-speed Top Loader manual
- Dana 44 rear end
- Four-wheel disc brakes
- Aluminum radiator
- Front-end rebuild
- Sunbeam Specialties interior
- Wiring harness
- Motolita steering wheel
- Robbins top with refinished frame
- New windshield and restored hardtop
The car was repainted in a nice Midnight Blue in 2016. “The car is absolutely rust-free,” says the owner, who claims to have invested $40,000 since the purchase. It’s hard to imagine a more road-ready Tiger.
Built by Ken Miles and Carroll Shelby
The 289 isn’t original to the car for sale on eBay, but many buyers will welcome it being there.
Let’s go back to 1962. John F. Kennedy is in the White House. It’s the New Frontier, an optimistic age. Why not graft California hotrod culture onto the British roadsters then the rage on both coasts? Carroll Shelby was already doing it with the AC Cobra, so he was recruited to work his magic for the very British Rootes Group. The company’s four-cylinder Alpine was nice, but no ball of fire.
The original idea came from Formula 1 champ Jack Brabham in 1962. He talked to Rootes competition manager Norman Garrad, who talked to his son, Ian—then the west coast sales manager for Rootes. Ian measured the Sunbeam Alpine’s engine bay with a wooden ruler and declared that the then-new Ford 260 V-8 would fit.
No less a personage than Ken Miles—of Ford vs. Ferrari fame—was asked to build a proof-of-concept prototype. He was given a Series II Alpine, the engine, and (perish the thought) a two-speed automatic transmission. It took him a week to get the car running.
Meanwhile, Shelby was building his own version, this time with a four-speed manual, and had it ready to go by April of 1963. Space was tight. Access to some of the spark plugs was through the car’s interior. Shelby called it a “tight squeak.”
Sunbeam Tiger Makes Its Debut
The Tiger has a brand-new interior.
Lord Rootes was skeptical about the whole thing until he drove Shelby’s prototype. He promptly ordered 3,000 for the 1964 model year. It was first shown at the New York Auto Show that year, only eight months after the project was approved. The finished Tiger, with minor modifications to the Alpine donor, was only 20 percent heavier.
Tiger production was 7,128 in three series. Most of them came to the US, priced at $3,499. The Tiger wasn’t available in Great Britain until March 1965. Later Mark II versions have the 289 V-8 fitted, like the car on offer here, and some appearance modifications that aren’t to every buyer’s tastes. Although there’s not much space, the Tiger could be—and was—enhanced with every Ford performance accessory.
Ford performance parts available on eBay could take this car to an even higher state of build if that’s desired. eBay currently has six Tigers for sale, plus a no-reserve bargain Alpine. (We wrote about wonderful Signal Red 1965 Sunbeam Tiger MK 1, a barn find, in 2016.)
The paint job from 2016 still looks good.
Catch a Tiger (While You Can)
The party would undoubtedly have continued longer had not Chrysler fully acquired the Rootes Group in 1967. It would hardly do to have a Chrysler product powered by Ford, so the Tiger was put on the Endangered Species List.. Until the supply of V-8s was exhausted, Chrysler put a logo on the cars and said only that it was powered by “an American V-8 powertrain.”
The premature death of the Tiger makes it scarcer now, and values are rising. Sports Car Market says the Mk II cars, with the 289, are the most valuable—and can reach $200,000. The Mk I and Mk I/A are around $70,000 to $80,000. That makes the car being sold in California attractive because it’s had so many upgrades but isn’t priced stratospherically high. And, of course, you can always make an offer.
