Are you a coffee drinker? Does it seem like your day doesn’t really start until you’re deep into your second cup of joe? Maybe you need an energy drink in the morning for that caffeinated kick in the ass to get you into gear. Or maybe you’re like me, where the morning is completely optional and you’ll get into gear when you’re damn good and ready. Well, for you slow-to-move types, we offer up this seemingly harmless little convertible. It’s a classic, with British lines and a charm that will have you imagining a trip through Scotland on the side roads. But this car couldn’t be any further from that cap-and-scarf kind of driver. Oh, hell no. This was the 1960s, baby, and between the rock and roll, the party scene and other influences of the time, the classic roadster type didn’t fare so well. Hybrids were more of the day, but that term meant nothing of the sort of hybrid we know now. 
While the AC/Shelby Cobra is the more famous example, discounting the Sunbeam Tiger is a mistake. The Tiger was the Alpine roadster with the Ford touch that came about after two different prototypes, one built by legendary racer Ken Miles and the other built by Carroll Shelby. The prototypes were built with nobody telling Lord Rootes himself that his company was footing the bill, but once his annoyance passed enough to allow the Shelby prototype to be shipped to England for his personal testing, he was so impressed that he directly ordered engines from Henry Ford II and set the builders to work. Over the run of the Tiger, two Ford V8s were used: the 260 and the 289. This black example has neither…instead, it’s a 302 that is making the noise. Not that a Sunbeam Tiger needed any more grunt, they were already quite potent even with the lowly 260. 
There is a statement that I read a little while back that sums up the Tiger nicely: “Don’t worry about the biggest guy in the room. Worry instead about the little hate-filled f***er in the corner with nothing to lose.” A Cobra is a known entity. Unless you truly know the game, the Tiger is just a cute little roadster…that can leave you wondering what happened.
I had one of these with the \’lowly 260\’ in the early 80\’s. Only thing that could beat it was my buddy\’s built V8 Vega. Few (upright) things were as enjoyable as blowing the wheels off a new Vette or Porsche with my old white ratty ragtop.
Great engine and chassis combo, surprisingly well balanced, but the wiring and plumbing sucked. Girling hydraulics led to a few anxious moments when I went too deep into a corner (and the Girling clutch release sucked). But the real highlight were electrics by Lucas, Prince of Darkness.
And no, this wasn\’t an Alpine with a V8. About the only common parts were the external sheet metal, the interior bits and some various mechanicals.
My mother sold it while I while I was deployed. Our relationship never recovered.
God, I miss that car.
Having owned the same Tiger for 43 years,now with 476hp and 445 lbs of torque, I can verify they are fun. The people that own them are even more fun.
Even Max Smart was smart enough to drive one. Would you believe I missed out on owning one in the ’70s by just that much.
I may have shared this story before so apologies if you’ve already heard it..when I was 12 and my brother was 14 2 guys drove past our house after school one day that my brother knew, in a creamy coloured Tiger. They stopped to chat and we asked where they got the car.. payed $150 for it which even then was cheap.. they bought it off the mum of the previous owner after he’d rolled it – and, i’ll never forget this, the driver sorta gestured at the bootlid and missing windscreen to illustrate what had happened to him…bootlid was all gouged up and covered in blood cos he’d rolled it and killed himself, hence the cheap price. I mean i have low standards but bloody hell wouldn’t have owned that car if it was free…