Collectible autos: the Sunbeam Alpine and Tiger

Let's talk about James Bond. You may have heard of him—he's a suave British spy-type known for how daring his missions are, how precisely he performs his secret operations, and how classy he is the entire time he's doing it. He's refined and understated until he needs to do his thing, at which point he'll sneak up on you and do whatever it is a spy does.

James Bond drives a Sunbeam Alpine (or at least, he did in Dr. No). Like Bond, the car is British, refined, and when it needs to, it does the thing British roadsters do best: goes through twisty turns while looking good.

Compare James Bond with someone like, say, Maxwell Smart of the TV show Get Smart. Smart is in the same business as Bond—they're both spies, and they both do their thing to combat crime and evil and all that other awesomeness. In contrast to Bond's passionate nights with secret ladies of mystery and perfectly executed operations, Smart had a shoe-phone and would usually bumble through his assignments. He was awkward, silly, and above all else, fantastically American.

Maxwell Smart drives a Sunbeam Tiger. The Tiger is everything that the Alpine is, but with the hamster-like inline-four stripped out and a big burly Ford V8 dropped in its place. Take that, Bond.

The Alpine was developed by the relatively obscure British manufacturer Sunbeam in the late 1950s as a small roadster to replace its sister-company Talbot's outgoing Alpine. The car Sunbeam developed was an absolutely typical British roadster and Sunbeam sold some 70,000 copies (about as many E-Types as Jaguar sold) from 1959 until it was discontinued ten years later. Early in the car's production, however, Carroll Shelby (of AC Cobra fame) was tapped to take the Alpine chassis and stuff a big American engine in it—and hence, the Tiger was born. While the Alpine was sold with various four-cylinder engines of around 1.7L displacement and under 100hp, the Tiger got a 260in³ (4.2L) Ford V8 making 164hp or, for the last few cars, a 289 making 200hp. The image at the top of the article is a Tiger; below is an Alpine. On the outside, they're very very similar—although not identical.

Only 7,000 Tigers were sold between 1964 and 1967, the vast majority having the 260in³ engine; only 536 cars got the 289.

Collectability: Excellent for the Tiger, average for the Alpine. Buy a Tiger if you've got the dough.

(+) Two words: British roadster. Droptops built in the UK have always been collectible, and will continue to be for a very long time. MG, Triumph, Sunbeam—they're always great bets.

(+) It's got a big V8, or it doesn't. The Tiger was graced by Carroll Shelby, and that's always a good thing in terms of collectability. You can have your tiny roadster and horrific amounts of power all at the same time. Nearly everything about the Tiger is great because of the nuttiness that went into stuffing that engine in the front. As for the Alpine, well, good luck with that.

(-) The Alpines just aren't worth it. All things considered, you're much better off putting your money into something like a TR6. The Alpine really is a straightforward and average little roadster—and if you want straightforward and average, go for an MGB so at least parts are cheap.

(-) The Tiger is pricey. In addition to the base sticker, do remember that you need to maintain these cars after you've bought one. Keeping something like an E-Type running is expensive on its own, but recall that Jaguar sold ten times as many E-Types as Sunbeam sold Tigers. The Tiger doesn't share many parts with the Alpine, and it isn't uncommon to find out that you have to plunk down four figures to get some new trim pieces or a gauge or two.

(-) Neither the Alpine nor the Tiger is an AC Cobra. The signature British roadster with a big American engine will always be the Cobra. There's simply no comparison between a car like that and the Tiger—which was a great attempt, but didn't have quite the ludicrousness of the AC. Original Cobras sell for several hundred grand and will continue to appreciate for a damned long time. The Tiger is more affordable, but it isn't nearly as collectible.

Expect to pay: $6,000 for a strong Alpine, or $25,000 for a Tiger.

What to look for:

• Originality (especially in the case of the Tiger) is absolutely key. If you're looking at buying a Tiger, get the car looked over by at least two or three people familiar with the cars. The number of folks putting Ford V8s into Alpines and calling them Tigers is remarkably large.
  
• Look for rust in the interior under the carpeting. Alpines and Tigers are notorious for having poor interior circulation and water pools inside easily.
  
• The Rootes engines in the Alpines are fairly rare and can be difficult to find parts for. The Tiger is a much better bet in terms of both maintenance and parts, as the 260in³ V8 was sold in a good deal of Ford cars. If you can swallow the up-front cost of the Tiger, it'll cost you less to keep it in good shape than the cheaper Alpine.