For Sale -1964 Sunbeam Tiger LeMans Coupe
The rakish Sunbeam Alpine, introduced in 1958 by the British Rootes Motors
Group as a civilized road going sports car, was also prepared for racing and
rallying by Norm Garrard, the Companys competition manager. The works drivers,
all however felt that the four-cyclinder Alpine could use more power. Garrards
son Ian, who was Sunbeam-Talbots west coast Sales Manager came up with the
idea of a V8 powered Alpine similar in concept to Carroll Shelbys Cobra. Ken
Miles and Carroll Shelby produced two Ford V8 prototypes, the second of which
was sent to the UK head office after rudimentary USA road-testing. The company
engineering staff liked what they saw and production approval for the new car
which was named Sunbeam Tiger by Lord Rootes himself, was gained by the end of
1963. Ford V8s and matching transmissions were ordered from Fords Industrial
Division and began arriving in October of that year. By this time Marcus
Chambers had been installed as the factorys competition director and he drew
up world wide racing plans for the new Tiger in 1964. Then, as now,
participation in the 24 Hours of LeMans likely provides a manufacturer more
positive sales promotion than most of all the other annual venues added
together. A team of three LeMans prepared Tigers with aerodynamic coupe bodies
was therefore envisioned one, a "mule" (Registration # 7734 KV) to be used
for development with the other two (Registration # ADU 179B & # ADU 180B)
earmarked to become Rootes Groups factory entries for the 1964 24 Hour
Classic. Three competition engines were ordered from Shelby who recommended
4.2-liter units rather then the 4.7-liter engines he was installing into his
own Cobras. This could have been seen as a conflict of interest and indeed was
so interpreted by Rootes lawyers after the fact, when all three engines failed
at LeMans. (Shelby settled out of court). Brian Lister of Cambridge, well known
for his sports racing cars, was given the job of building the three cars.
London panel beaters, Williams & Pritchard produced the
windscreen in order to lower the roof line. By the end of April, when the
prototype was completed, only five weeks of testing remained prior to the
LeMans race. The trials revealed serious handling problems, no doubt made worse
by the combination of a short wheelbase, wide wheels and the excessive
horsepower. Spring rates, sway bars, tire pressures and shock settings were
juggled in time for the April 18, 19th LeMans test days. Pit neighbour, factory
Ferrari driver Mike Parkes tried the car at Marcus Chambers suggestion and
recommended the fitment of Koni shock absorbers and a rear anti-sway bar.
Better handling ensued and the team could now incorporate the improved
suspension specifications into the two LeMans racing coupes that Brian Listers
workers were scrambling to complete on time. The example offered here, ADU 180B
arrived in France on June 16th along with its running mate ADU 179B. On June
17th while at practice ADU 179B (Car# 8) ran its bearings and ADU 180B was
found to be low on both oil pressure and power. Drivers for Car # 8 were Keith
Ballisat/Claude Dubois while Car # 9 was entrusted to Rootes Factory drivers,
Peter Procter/Jimmy Blumer. Tiger # 8 reached a maximum speed of 161mph but
retired after only three hours with a burnt piston while our Car # 9, lasted
for 123 laps or ten hours, after which the crankshaft broke. (Shelbys own
Cobra Daytona Coupe finished 4th overall and 1st in the GT class, proving there
was nothing wrong with the Ford V8 power unit). While running, the Tigers
provided an impressive account of themselves, steadily circulating in the
middle of the pack. The potential certainly was there but the usual racing
inadequacies horsepower, budget, time and testing had combined to impair the
Tigers performance as an endurance racing machine. Bernard Unett, a pre-LeMans
Rootes test driver and engineer took over this car ADU 180B to campaign in
the 1965 British "Redex" GT Championship. He transformed the car by
re-designing the suspension and fitting a proper 4.7-liter engine af
places out of 22 starts as he and Brian Redman, in the Red Rose E-type traded
places all season long. After further UK Club racing, ADU 180B was sold to
America in the late 1970s where it was raced a few times in California before
going into a private collection. Ron Bennett purchased the car around 1987 at a
Palm Springs auction, intending to transform the racing Tiger coupe into a
street car. He quickly gave up on that idea and sold it to great vintage racing
enthusiast Syd Silverman. The car received a complete high quality restoration,
including the fitting of a brace of Weber downdraft carburetors by John
Hardens Vintage Connection race shop. Now, after nearly 15 years in the
Silverman Collection, the Monterey Sports Car Auction is proud to have been
selected to offer ADU 180B, an important piece of British LeMans history.
Many spares including the original LeMans fuel tanks, magnesium Dunlop wheels
and two carburetor intake manifold will be included in the sale.
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