Two for One: 1966 and 1964 Sunbeam Alpines

Two cars for one price! These Sunbeam Alpines, one a 1966 and the other a 1964, are located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and advertised here on Craigslist. $5,500 takes the pair home. Many thanks to Chuck Foster for the tip!

The original Alpine was conceived the early Fifties as a purpose-built rally car based on the four-door Sunbeam Talbot. By the middle of the decade, however, Rootes was casting its eye towards the lucrative American market. Keeping costs firmly in mind, the car was made so as to take as much as possible from the Rootes parts bin. The chassis was a modified Hillman Husky, which was, in turn, a modified Hillman Minx. Almost everything else was borrowed from the Sunbeam Rapier, though front brakes were upgraded to discs– making the Alpine unique among Rootes offerings when it debuted in 1959. Increased compression and two Zenith carbs allowed the engine to produce 83.5 horsepower. Routed through a four speed (with optional overdrive and synchro on the top three), this rocketed the car to sixty in just 13.6 seconds.

Over five series from 1959 to 1968, the little car would prove to be greater than the sum of its parts, achieving success on the track and comparing favorably to other British sports cars of its generation. The two cars we consider here are of different generations, so we’ll take each one in turn. The 1966 convertible is not pictured, unless it is the shadowy figure lurking in the back of the garage. It would be a Series V example, boasting a 1,725cc engine equipped with twin Zenith-Strombergs. Making nearly 100 bhp, in its prime this car would have been capable of 100 mph. The seller states that the body is in good condition and the drivetrain is all there, along with most of the interior, but that some things have been “removed for a different car.” Without additional information, ideally including more pictures, it’s hard to say for sure what is, or is not, included here.

The 1964, however, is a different story. To my mind, the more intriguing of the two, it’s a rare Series III example, one of only 5,863 made. More, it’s one of the even more scarce GT models, equipped with a removable hardtop. Though there are no pictures of the engine, it should have a 1,592cc inline-4, up almost 100cc from the Series I and II. Paradoxically, the greater displacement did not translate into greater horsepower: the Series III has just a hair over 80 horses and peak torque of 91 lb.ft. The seller states that while the interior is out of the car, “Everything is there including the coveted Mahogany Wheel.” The wheel in the picture does not, however, show any evidence of mahogany. While the advertisement indicates that not much remains to bring this car back to life, I’ll respectfully disagree.

Depending on the condition of the second, unseen, car, there might be a lot to be said for this particular deal– especially for the Alpine aficionado. The GT is an extremely interesting variant, and while much work remains to put it back to showroom condition, it’s worthy of the effort. If the ’66 is in as good or better shape, then someone might be able to pick up a nice pair of British sports cars! Now the only problem is finding space for two new acquisitions.