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Facebook follower Edward R just uploaded this photo to our page and asked what it was. So, who can name it first? We don’t have any hints besides what you can see in the picture. We will hold the comments back a while to give everyone a chance to guess. Good luck.
UPDATE: Well, it didn’t take long for Michel G to identify this one as a Sunbeam Venezia. Touring of Milan may have been responsible for some of the most beautiful high-end cars ever built, but they even worked their Superleggera magic on more modest machines. It’s basically an Alpine in a fancy Italian suit. Rumor has it that a V8 model was even in the works! Now that would have been the Tiger to have! Read more about this rare car here.
SUNBEAM Venezia 1963/64.
looks like a Humber sceptre ;)
Could be a modified Singer Vogue …. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer_Vogue
Apparently a rare Sunbeam Venzia …. check the link and scroll down for pictures of this exact car ….(I think)
http://crunch22.blogspot.ca/2009_02_01_archive.html
Another link …. http://www.sunbeam.org.au/models/venezia.htm
It’s a Sunbeam Rapier with an Italian body called a Venezia I believe body by Touring someone will no doubt correct me if I am wrong , but anyway a very cool car .
Steve
Simca?
The basic car looks to me like a Triumph Dolomite, possibly a sprint. The grille looks like it is off a Vanden Plas or MG 1300 type car. dont know what the customiser was hoping to achieve with the wing extentions/scoops though.
gun ports
1965 Sunbeam VENEZIA
sunbeam venezia
Looks like that front piece is home made and has been added on, giving the effect of scoops.”Scoops” may be the space where the headlights were originally. Looks British to me. Maybe a Triumph Herald or something along those lines.
Sunbeam Venicia. 200 made. My dad had one 30 years ago.
Tom
Tom,
I please get in touch with me and find out more about your dad’s Venezia.
There are five (5) Venezias in the USA. I used to own three of them. Maybe one of them was your dad’s? I am still working on a restoration.
The Brian Rooes V8 is a story of wishful thinking. The ex Brian Rootes car is currently being restored in the UK. See http://classicandcustomautomotive.co.uk/restoration.htm under Venezia and the detailed pics show all details Worldwide now 50 are still known to exist, not bad out of the max 200 produced. Robert J
It is a MG Farina Magnette which has had a considerable face-lift, in other words it’s been customized
Aluminum Superleggera body by Touring.
Tom
Do you even think it’s original? Looks mighty strange, and perhaps a 50-year-old European car. Without a bumper, certainly some work’s been done. Those lights are definitely dated.
My vote is a Triumph Vitesse or some other Herald derivative.
Chas
It’s a Sunbeam Venezia. It was a very limited production Rootes Group car built in Italy in I think 1964 and 1965. Only a few hundred were built. It was based on the Sunbeam Alpine Series IV and was very luxurious for it’s day. The drawback…too expensive and not enough power. Rumor is that one was built using a Ford 260 V8 (plenty of room under the hood for that) but no one’s seen that. A very neat car I’d like to own.
Sunbeam Venezia.
Looks like Michel named it first! Good job guys. We will update the post with a little more information about the Sunbeam Venzia and what made it so special.
Has some Austin in the grill and Humber [Sceptre] in the fender scoops. Love to be stumped. thanks
that’s a riley elf or wolesley hornet next to it.
2014 KIA Mamma Mia
it’s a Sunbeam Venezia Superleggera coach built by Touring in Milan. 125 made.
sunbeam amphicar?
Congrats to the knowledgeable car guys who got this right.
It’s always interesting to see what a true coachbuilder does with a production chassis. But in this case I’d say that I really think the front end of the production Sunbeam Alpine is a great design, with its really well done grille, sloping hood, two headlights, and lack of gun ports.
mark: +1
I’m with you Dolphin. When you try too hard, it just looks all stuck together like ‘Topsy’. The original was clean although at the time I thought the fins on the back were just too trendy and I preferred the Triumph and MG.
Its a 1963 or 64 Sunbeam Venezia
It’s a cross-eyed car with bad teeth.
I’d take a Tiger any day.
Edward R Where is this one located? I thought we knew all of them in our registry worldwide. But this is a new picture I do not know. For the record we like to track it.
Robert
So I am guessing this is what the current Sunbeam will look like when done.