The Talbot Sunbeam Lotus is a pretty good package in standard form – with 150bhp from a race-bred short-stroke DOHC engine, rear-wheel drive, unassisted steering and a kerb weight still in three figures, it was many performance fans’ idea of the perfect do-it-all car. But when you consider that the rallying versions of the Sunbeam Lotus had around 250bhp from the same engine, it’s not surprising that some people wonder what the standard cars would be like with more power.
That’s what a previous owner of this Sunbeam Lotus thought, since it was sent to well-known specialist Skip Brown in 1986 (with 48,000 miles on the clock) to have a big-port cylinder head fitted, taking power up to approximately 210bhp at the flywheel and 175bhp at the wheels, measured at the time on a rolling road. That work also included improved intake and exhaust manifolds and a reconditioned steering rack,
