SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR THE WEEKEND

I bought my first Sunbeam Alpine when I was still in the RAF,' recalls Jim Bull, owner of the metallic green Harrington featured here. 'It was a memorable period in my life as I began to enjoy sports car motoring in the Sunbeam and I met my wife-to-be Carole, who part ran a hairdressing salon in the local town. Mind you, she didn’t know I had the Alpine when we met, that came later.'

The Sunbeam name is an old one, being registered in 1888 for bicycle manufacture. The company built its first car in 1901, and in 1905 the Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited was separated off from the bicycle side of the business. There then followed a plethora of cars carrying the Sunbeam insignia, all of which bore a distinctly sporting flavour, while the name was brought centre stage through the World Land Speed record breaking attempts of Sir Henry Segrave.

Unfortunately sales were weak through the end of the 1920s and into the 1930s, and when in 1934 the company could not repay ten year loans taken out in 1924 to finance its racing programme, the official receivers were called in and Sunbeam were bought