It’s practically a law that anyone selling, buying, or looking at a 1953-1955 Sunbeam Alpine must mention its claim to fame: Grace Kelly drove one in Alfred Hitchcock’s colorful To Catch a Thief. As beguiling as the soon-to-be Princess Grace was in that and all films, I think of Stirling Moss, race car driver extraordinaire and best driver* to never win an F1 Championship (*no need to argue, that is always a debatable topic). The late Mr. Moss drove an Alpine to an only-intelligible-to-a-rally-person Coupe d’Or in successive runnings of the Alpine Rally. Therefore, if you are a fan of Hitchcock, Princess Grace, Stirling Moss, and Raymond Loewy (Wait, what? Just a minute.), this extremely uncommon Alpine located on Marketplace in Lakeside-Marblehead, Ohio, might be the car of your dreams.
Back to Raymond Loewy: Evidently, his studio did the detail work on the first-generation Alpine. It was closely related to Rootes’s sporting sedan, the Sunbeam-Talbot 90 (also a rally car driven by Mr. Moss, by the way), and Loewy’s team was responsible for the transition from sedan to roadster. I think they did a nice job considering that there is a clear resemblance between the two, especially in the front end. But that long, swoopy tail…nice work. (Thanks to Graham Robson’s Cars of the Rootes Group for a little background.)
This particular Alpine is an interesting case. The seller says that it needs paint, as it was damaged in shipping at some point. There are several dents that have been hammered out, but the paint has suffered as a result, and it wasn’t too good to begin with. Do you have it painted? Then those bumpers will stand out, as will all the chrome and polished trim. Do you leave it as-is, a 20-footer, and enjoy it? It’s an interesting conundrum.
It has had some rust repair in the floorpans, but the seller seems honest about its flaws. As always, it might be worth a closer look if you’re in the area. There is a video attached to the ad showing the seller shifting it up through the gears, and it seems to run and drive very well. Two notes from the video: One, the underdash tach is out-of-this-world cool. Two, the Alpine has a “four-in-the-tree” shifter. Yes, Stirling Moss was a driving hero for muscling an Alpine in anger through (appropriately) the Alps with a column shifter. If you’re looking to emulate your racing hero or a glamorous film siren, you could do a lot worse. Thanks to Ted for sending this one to Barn Finds.
You need a leather flight helmet, goggles and a long scarf to drive this. That four speed on the column seems daunting but I drove a three on the tree on my old truck and I’m not sure it had power steering. It was a long time ago. That said, this is definitely niche, like an old MG with the cycle fenders. And that grill looks way too formal for a roadster. Still, not something you see everyday. Buy it and enjoy it.
I had a SAAB 96 with four on the tree. Not daunting at all.
My brother’s 1959 Goliath 1100 Hansa Estate had a 4 on the tree. It takes a little getting used to but, easily mastered. I’ve always liked the looks of this model Alpine but, a 4 on the floor would be more appropriate to compliment it’s sporting appearance.
Leave it as is, there’s not a lot of others.
What a gem! I was unaware of Lowey’s work on this car. Thanks!
I doubt this. The first Alpines were built snd sold by a large Rootes dealer in Bournemouth Uk, called Hartwell. They could not have had access to Raymond Loewy.
Focus on the mechanical needs, then drive it. You will make a lot of people smile, and you won’t sweat every outing as a potential disaster waiting to happen.
I quite agree. Dents and all, a crowd WILL gather ’round.
Very rough car when you look close but LHD?? I’ve never seen a LHD early Alpine like this before. i hope somebody buys and restores it . . . it just won’t be me though.
“…not have had access to …”
some simple fact checking can suffice. But… will not change the over all experience this lill Gem (yes, I will use what I reserve for the Italian art of ‘50s/mid 70s to some Brit cars) gives. I saw the thumbnail on our face page’n thought of the 2nd gen (’59/68 many made it over here, the Tiger model a bent8 {260/289 ford]. I like the hard top [not “Fastback”] as best alpine).
THIS lill car can help one span 2 gens of British ‘rolling art’ (50s & 60s). As mentioned the nice grill is a throw back. I love the lines (same as the “classic era” to me, late 30s – very early 50s USA). But most of all? The LHD. That brings up my own quibling: “U sure it’s a late import? nota ‘made 4 our shores’ model?”
Then there was Ava in the Austin. What a fun car, that must be used often. It would look good with a large magnetic door number.
Nice car. And no problem with the 4 on the tree either. As a teenager I used to drive my big sister’s Saab whenever I could back in the late 70’s.
Just enough different for a british roadster!
Tach is killer. Unfortunately not enough depth to my pockets …
What a great car. I agree, keep as a driver. Needs white walls though :)
Agreed! The wide whitewalls look sharp in this 1954 U.S. market magazine ad for these . . .
https://live.staticflickr.com/4096/4874849966_431212d21f_b.jpg
Seems the windshield is removable (for competition!). They also came with an all-weather folding top.
If i go back 1/2 century or more I remember driving a 4 on the tree but not a SAAB, now I’m trying to remember lol! Car looks great just as it is, interior looks very good- is this a true roadster? No matter, I’ll take it!
In High School my boss at a gas station had a Mercedes diesel with a 4 on the tree that he occasionally had me take out to pick up parts and supplies, and later on I owned a Citroen DS21 with a 4 on the tree.
Greetings All,
I’ve always loved the lines but have to say i was a little disappointed in the size as it looks to be a much bigger car.
Still love it though.
My Mercedes Fintails had 4 on the column as does the Ponton I still own.
I have a Peugeot with 4 on the tree and a Hudson with 3 on the tree. They’re not bad, but there sure is a lot of monkey motion between you and the transmission. Not sure why that was thought to be a good idea in the first place.
American manufacturers moved them from floor to column in the late 30’s and early 40’s so as not to be in the way of the passenger in the middle. Even some hotrodders put column shifts on their cars in 50’s. While 4-on-th-tree was common with some foreign car makers, the only American vehicle I ever saw that setup on was an early Ford Econoline pickup. And not many of them were made.
I once drove an RHD Toyota camper conversion with 5 on the tree. For 3 weeks.
Shifted with the left hand!! Not my most graceful….
What a great and incredible write up. Kudos.
Thank you!
https://classiccars.com/listings/view/1722420/1954-sunbeam-alpine-for-sale-in-beverly-hills-california-90210
could this be the same car- recently sold?
Yes.
If you look at the steering wheel you can just see paint overspray at the top of the horn button.
Nice car. And no to the white walls for me.
Here in Sonoma Ca. I regularly do the Breakfast Club Rally ,usually in my 56 Porsche.Another regular is a gent with a beautiful Alpine just like this in cream.What a lovely car and a standout amongst the crowd of vintage rally cars.I remember a showroom in London with a red and a white one for sale when I was a kid..loved em then and love em now.Love to have this.
My brother’s 1959 Goliath 1100 Hansa Estate had a 4 on the tree. It takes a little getting used to but, easily mastered. I’ve always liked the looks of this model Alpine but, a 4 on the floor would be more appropriate to compliment it’s sporting appearance.
I had one of these for about three days and that was more than enough as it couldn’t pull the skin off a rice pudding. Also had a four speed gear change on the column with my 1959 Mercedes Benz 220s and my 1959 Borgward Isabella TS. Both not a problem to use as long as you didn’t want to do racing changes.