I know, complaining about winter is boring. And it’s not really cold here, just perpetually rainy and cloudy. It’s dumping as I write this. And it’s been going for about three months straight. Actually, we had bit of a warm, sunny spell early in January. But except for that, since early December, it’s been like someone turned the faucet on and forgot about it.
So let’s remind ourselves about the warm, sunny days of summer. And what’s better than an open sports car to help us do so? I spotted this fine Alpine one day in our neighborhood, thinking it might be moving in. Turns out it was just passing through. Good for it and its owner.
Roger Carr did a full CC on the Alpine here a few years back, so I’m not going to replicate that effort. I’d rather just think about…summer. Which is generally fabulous here, with cool nights and mornings, little or no humidity (and bugs), warm-to-hot afternoons, and long evenings, perfect for our daily after-supper hike along the river and dip in the cool water of one of the Willammette Rivers.
Which also means perfect for top-down motoring. So why don’t I have a convertible or sports car? Good question. Probably a combination wanting to protect my damaged ears (severe tinnitus) and my skin (I’ve had one melanoma removed). I suppose I could find a way to accommodate those issues, but then Stephanie is not a fan of strong wind either. Nor is the dog. So it’s just not been compelling enough.
Although there are times when we’re bopping down one of the many paved or gravel US Forest roads to a trailhead when it would be nice to see it all. On the other hand, I’m not sure I’d take a vintage Alpine on some of the more remote roads; we often don’t see another car the whole day. It’s why I drive an old Toyota.
I used to spend a fair amount of time looking at Alpines in Iowa City, where there were several. That’s the kind of car frat boys drove back then; now it’s giant SUVs. I had somewhat mixed feeling about them, and the full horn ring was one of them. Who would put that on a sports car? Ok, Porsche did, but back in the 50s. And Mercedes, on the Pagoda SL, but that wasn’t really a hard-core sports car. But then neither was the Alpine, at least not as much as its competition from MG and Triumph.
And until 1964, the fins on them were more than a bit off-putting too? Really?
Those got toned down for 1964, but were still a bit less than ideal for the times.
From my vantage point, the Alpine was inferior stylistically to the MGB. Admittedly, the B came along three years later (1962) than the Alpine (1959), but the difference was considerable. But then the MGB was an exceptionally fine looking car, in my book.
The truth is that the Alpine was a bit closer to a Mercedes SL than an XK-E, inasmuch as its recirculating ball steering box wasn’t as crisp as the MG’s rack and pinion, an its suspension and underpinnings, borrowed from the plebeian Hillman Husky, just didn’t deliver genuine sports car handling.
The later versions had the 1725cc four, which did give it reasonably competitive performance. And of course there was the V8 Tiger, which we honored here. But that’s a cat of a different color.
The front end has a ’55-’57 Thunderbird vibe, thanks to its stylist Ken Howe, who was an ex-Ford man.
Has this post gotten too negative? Blame it on the rain. If I was driving this on a warm summer day, I’d be gushing.
And the front end is even closer to the Auto Union 1000 SP – but I doubt that car was an inspiration for this, the second version of the Alpine.
Always think of Maxwell Smart when I see one of these.
May not be the exact duplicate, but very iconic of the ’60’s.
Looks to be in excellent shape. A rare find:-)
I also thought immediately of “Get Smart”.
The comments in the post about the Alpine’s styling had me both examining the Alpine against the MGB, and also the modest fins on the featured car. It’s hard to perceive, fo someone born in the ’70s, how dated they may have made the Alpine look by ’64.
Great “lite” piece.
FWIW, I think Max’s car was an Alpine with Tiger emblems affixed.
Coincidentally, James Bond’s first movie car was also an Alpine.
Much better than the later Karmann-Ghia that he drove.
If driving the Alpine Tiger is too noisy, you can always wear the portable version of the “Cone Of Silence”.
Good one!
🙂
Max’s cars definitely seemed to have a downward trajectory. In the first episode (maybe the pilot), he actually had a Ferrari, a 250GT (I think). Then came the rebadged Alpine Tigers, followed by the Karmann Ghia, and I think his last car may have been an Opel GT.
And he only drived the Karmann-Ghia in the opening credits in seasons 3 and 4 before they switched again, this time to Opel with an Opel GT for season 5. http://wouldyoubelieve.com/doors.html
To make room for the retractable machine gun under the hood they used the 4-cylinder Alpine.
Ah . . . winter in Eugene.
The only place I’ve ever lived where you had to keep your head ducked down for seven months of the year in order to keep it out of the low-hanging clouds.
I recall seeing a model kit of one of these back then. I kind of liked it but was mystified about what it was, having never seen one. I wondered if it was somehow related to the company that made my mother’s electric skillet.
Neigbhor had one. His house sat below ours on the hill along the ridge overlooking the Missouri River floodplain in St .Louis county. steep enough we could sit at the edge of our back yard and look over his roof. Many times His Red (were most of them Red?) Sunbeam would be in the drive. and I did see the “BabyBird” style of the front quite readily. I actually gave thought to to finding one as my first car when I was 16, in 1967, along with MGs, etc. As an alternative to my true love, a GTO… Dad nixed those choices, every one… So I settled on a Cutlass.
The fins are there primarily so they could use Minx 3a onwards tail lights saves tooling up for lights unique to that car, Rootes used as many parts from their sedan range as possible in building these Alpine as did MG its mostly a Morris Oxford in a sports coat.
Of course! They designed those expensive to press fins so they could reuse the Minx tail lights.Makes perfect sense. I wish I could think the way you do, Bryce.
Those tail lights originated on the SuperMinx in late 1961 (1962 MY).
I may be out of line here, but I prefer the purity of line of the original s.I-III and the Alpine over the MGB, but that doesn’t mean I’m right! The Alpine was, like most Rootes cars, designed to appeal to the American market, so fins and horn rings are very much in line with that thinking. It was also the first British sports car with wind-up windows rather than primitive side screens, no doubt adding to its ‘soft’ image in Britian.
Usually, ‘different’ doesn’t translate to ‘better’, and in the case of the Alpine’s styling versus MGB, that’s probably true.
Still, the Alpine isn’t bad, and they definitely have their charm and appeal. I wouldn’t kick one out of my garage. In fact, I might go so far as to suggest the Alpine is on the same level of what is usually the much more desirable V8 Tiger. I wonder how many Alpines have given up their four-cylinder engine to create an ersatz Tiger.
A MUCH more “real world” comfortable (if no more reliable) car than the MGB; a smoother ride and a heater that actually worked. The optional/aftermarket bolt on hardtop looked most appealing on this Sunbeam (unlike other sports cars!)
I found the earlier models rear fins and period correct wide white wall tires to be most easy-on-the-eyes.
Lot’s of 1960’s era British cars had fins, even some iconic models.
Always liked the Alpine, being the underdog of British sports cars. But when the time came for me (1994) to choose an old open top sports car, the Alpine was not on the list. I chose a TR4 instead and am still very happy with that choice (drove it today because there was a sun up there). The Alpine was just not sporty enough. A friend owns a Mk1 with the high fins. It is a nice car but somehow the wheels are too small for it. Here is one I came across next to my Imp (also a Rootes car) at the yearly inspection at the local test station.
Anyone who believes the frump MGB to be somehow stylistically a lesson to the Sunbeam Alpine needs their bottle glasses fixed. The ‘B is probably the worst-styled sports car of all time, and no modification has ever improved its pencil-box dreariness. The Alpine had no influence from Auto Union, but some from the Ford Thunderbird, and is a gorgeous car.
I’ve owned two, over a 10-year period I fondly remember, and drove one from Melbourne to far Western Australia across the treeless Nullarbor Plain, and back, being pulled up for doing 100 mph, then let go by cops who scratched their heads. Making ugly MGBs embarrassed was one of my favorite pastimes.
You’re right, it’s very Ford-like. One of the most American-looking European cars I can recall. It’s dated, but harmonious. That’s what a classic always is, right?
Excellent reply/posting, Ron Chandler!
In a weird reverse CC effect, I spotted the big brother (Tiger) at my local aerodrome the weekend before last. There wasn’t an event on or anything, just these two beauties on the side of the road. The Tiger is pretty rare around these parts…. The C1 even more so!
For some reason pic didn’t load!
I have owned both of the cars in this CC Lite. I owned a 1963 MGB the last year in college and pulled the car to Florida after I graduated and started flight school in Pensacola. The thing I remember about the MGB was that it was rapidly returning to its natural state, that is iron oxide. I think the Minnesota winters were just too hard on it. I tried to arrest the decomposition, but was never successful. I painted the car and did some body work at the special services garage at NAS Meridian, but even then rust holes would appear at new places with some regularity. I ended up selling the car while there was something still left to sell. After selling the MGB I felt I needed another sports car, I ended up purchasing a 1967 Sunbeam Alpine.
The Alpine was BRG with the additional removable hardtop. I thought the Alpine V in BRG was a very nice looking car. The Alpine was certainly much nicer to drive in bad weather, especially with the hardtop, but then again I never had to put up with the Minnesota winters in the Alpine. The Alpine seemed to have much more room in the cockpit. I thought about buying a “B” later in life, but gave up that thought after driving a couple. The cockpit was too tight for an old fat guy. I never did notice much difference in the driving dynamics, both seemed to handle fine. Neither one of these cars was what I would call fast, but they seemed to scoot around corners with pretty good agility. I ended up selling the Alpine because I was getting ready to deploy, and I didn’t want to put it in storage, thinking about it I should have held on to it.
A most thoughtful posting, 4spOD.
Please consider posting an article on this car. Your writing style is clear, informative and enjoyable.
It seemed like every other Alpine sold here in New Orleans was of the BRG color.
I drove an Alpine and an MGB, back-to-back, in the early 1980’s, at a used car lot on “Sports Car Row” out here in the ‘burbs. The Alpine felt like a civilized car; the MG felt like a coal cart.
Thanks for the comment, but I don’t think I could write very much about the Alpine, I’m not even sure if I could come up with a picture of it. The one thing I remember about the Alpine is that I had a lot of trouble with the Stromberg carburetors. In fact I galled the jet adjustment screw so bad on one of them, I had to have the carburetor body drilled out and a helicoil inserted. Other than that my ownership of the Alpine was rather uneventful.
Gee, thanks– I had totally forgotten about these Sunbeams, and now I want one now! Or by next spring. Really, I want you to have one, though a Miata would be a more trustworthy companion. I’m totally with you about the tinnitus and the skin cancer, but there are workarounds. When I had my first car, a Fiat 1500 Cabriolet, the top stayed up on summer days, and it speed. Middle Tennessee had scorching days, but the evenings faded to warm nights, and open-air motoring provided that crisp breeze that restored your energy. The hilly landscape looked a lot like Oregon, both with winding rods through leafy tunnels of trees. You want this, at least once in your life, and a Sunbeam Alpine might just be the ticket. Easier to find, anyway, than a Fiat 1500 Cabriolet…
I really like the look of the (short fin) Alpines, although that steering wheel must go!
Yes, back to back the early MGB is a more handsome car, but at least we were never exposed to the horror of rubber bumper Alpines on stilted suspensions.
Kind of the opposite story to the B, after a goofy start the Alpine went out with its dignity intact.
Hmmmmmmm……….
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1967-Sunbeam-Alpine/292981254614?hash=item44370b29d6:g:H~4AAOSwkiZcdCRE
Anyone recall the 1960 model that the luscious and Breathtakingly Beautiful Liz Taylor drove and crashed in
“Butterfield 8”?
Some buzzy, snorting engine sounds and a couple of good dashboard pics were part of this movie.
https://www.google.com/search?q=butterfield+8+cars&tbm=isch&source=univ&client=firefox-b-1-d&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS7pjd8dfgAhVFMawKHQdhBm4Q7Al6BAgDEA0&biw=1366&bih=632#imgrc=wMsDEhZQ3DkIsM: