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.
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.
“…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?”