For every make and model you come across – no matter how obscure – there is someone who loves it to pieces. They have restored it or otherwise preserved it, and tracked down all of the rare parts needed to keep it on the road. We may only see one of those examples every decade or so, but when you do, it’s hard not to appreciate the level of effort involved in preserving it. Today’s example is an exceedingly rare 1969 Sunbeam Alpine GT, a car of which only a handful can exist still in the U.S. Find this incredibly well preserved example here on eBay that comes with a bevy of spare parts.
The car is currently bid to $1,026 with no reserve. The Alpine GT is known as a Rapier in Europe, and bears a striking resemblance to the Plymouth Barracuda. Of course, unlike the Barracuda, if someone drops a brick on that rear glass, you will be hard up to find a replacement. This very same car has turned up in the past based on this older listing from Bring A Trailer before it became an auction site. While there is a key difference in that the car had black rockers in the BaT listing and painted lower body panels here, both cars bear old-school Oregon license plate, so it seems likely that it’s the same car.
The seller claims he bought this Alpine GT from the estate of the second owner, who apparently owned it for 50 years. That would make me curious if the car didn’t sell in 2013, and remained with that caretaker even after the original listing on BaT. Regardless, you can tell that whoever the caretaker was, they loved this Alpine. Photos in the listing not only show an impeccably preserved interior with wood trim that is either a replacement panel or has somehow survived the test of time. And by the way, for an obscure, low-volume model in the U.S., what a cockpit!
The Alpine GT was not a huge success in the U.S. or anywhere for that matter, despite some decent test data from when it was new. At the time, it delivered a fairly sporting ride, with 94 horsepower on tap and a 0-60 sprint of a little over 12 seconds. Top speed was just shy of 100 miles per hour, and thanks to an oversized fuel tank, it also returned decent MPGs. The photos for this listing should inspire confidence that you’re buying a little known model that is likely near-extinct in terms of parts support from the right seller, as it seems like it comes with a lifetime of spares. Cars like these have a limited pool of buyers, but for the people that want one, there’s little doubt this is the example to go for.
I always thought it unfair to compare this to the Barracuda, the Barracuda was a gussied up Valiant, the Sunbeams were actually very nice, higher end cars. I don’t think the dash is wood, some Di-Noc(?) covering, but older Sunbeams I believe did have a wood dash, it still looks sharp. I actually remember a few of these, and thought it so odd it wasn’t a Tiger, our only association with Sunbeams at the time. The authors initial statement is true, for everything imaginable, someone might collect it. This is the way to do it with the parts, however, again, 143 viewers, but 2 bids, going up in $5 increments, so at least 2 people still want it. Great find, I’d love to have it.
But… The Barracuda could be had with V8s
I believe Sunbeam was under the Chrysler umbrella in 1969, so maybe that’s where it got the Barracuda influence. I like the looks anyway. I wonder if it would be possible to have that 4-banger replaced with a small-block V8? Make it a fixed head Tiger. On the other hand it would be more valuable if kept original….
These are pretty neat cars, but I’m curious to hear how the ”oversized fuel tank” can impact the MPG? If anything, carrying more fuel equals more weight which would hurt the MPG, no?