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The Sunbeam Alpine was a sporty coupé from Rootes's Sunbeam car marque.

Contents 1 First generation: the rally car 2 Series Alpine 3 Fastbacks 4 Post-Sunbeam Alpine 5 Trivia 6 See also 7 External links

The original was launched in 1953 as the first vehicle to bear the Sunbeam name alone since the 1920 merger of Sunbeam, Talbot, and Darracq. The Alpine was derived from the previous Sunbeam-Talbot 90 Saloon, and has since become colloquially known as the "Talbot" Alpine. It was a two-seater sports roadster which was initially developed by Sunbeam-Talbot dealer George Hartwell in Bournemouth, as a one-off rally car that had its beginnings as a 1952 Sunbeam-Talbot drophead coupé. It was named supposedly by Norman Garrad, (works Competition Department) who was heavily involved in the Sunbeam-Talbot successes in the Alpine Rally in the early 1950s using the saloon models. In the 1953 Alpine Rally four Alpines won the Coupe des Alpes, one of which was driven by Stirling Moss and Sheila van Damm won the Coupe Des Dames. The Alpine Mark I and Mark III (no Mark II was made) were hand built – like the 90 drophead coupé – at Thrupp & Maberly coachbuilders from 1953 to 1955 when production ceased after close to 3000 were produced. It has been estimated that perhaps only 200 remain in existence today. It was a four-cylinder car, but since it was developed from a saloon platform, it suffered from the results of rigidity compromises, and remained in production for only two years.

Kenneth Howes and Jeff Crompton were tasked with doing a complete redesign in 1956, with the goal of producing a dedicated sports car aimed principally at the US market. Ken Howes contributed some 80% of the overall design work, which bears more than incidental resemblance to the early Ford Thunderbird — Ken Howe had worked at Ford before joining Rootes.

The "Series" Alpine started production in 1959. One of the original prototypes still survives and was raced by British saloon car champion Bernard Unett. It's history can be found at http://www.xrw302.webeden.co.uk . The Alpine was produced in four subsequent revisions through to 1968. Total production numbered around 70,000. The car enjoyed relative success in competition, both in Europe and in North America, but the overall sentiment was that the Alpine lacked power. Successive increases in displacement and engine tuning improved the car tremendously, but Rootes executives were looking for something to transform the car, rather than an evolutionary development. They eventually found it in the (then) newly-introduced small-block V8 from Ford, and a subsequent collaboration with Carroll Shelby, Ken Miles, and other sports car racers in the US would result in creation of the Sunbeam Tiger.

Rootes introduced the "Arrow" range in 1967, and by 1968 the saloons and estates (such as the Hillman Hunter) had been joined by a Sunbeam Rapier fastback coupé model. In 1969, a cheaper, slightly slower and more economical version of the Rapier (still sold as a sporty model) was badged as the new Sunbeam Alpine. All models featured the group's strong five-bearing 1725cc engine, with the Alpine featuring a single Stromberg CD150 carburettor to the Rapier's twins, and the Rapier H120's twin 40DCOE Weber carburettors.

The Alpine name would be resurrected in 1976 by Chrysler (by then the owner of Rootes) on a totally unrelated vehicle that could not have been more different: the UK-market version of the Simca 1307, a French-built family hatchback. The car was initially badged as the Chrysler Alpine, and then finally as the Talbot Alpine following Chrysler Europe's takeover by Peugeot in 1978.

• A blue Alpine roadster is seen in the 1955 Alfred Hitchcock film To Catch a Thief starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. The PBS show History Detectives tried to verify that an Alpine roadster owned by a private individual was the real movie car. After finding out that the Technicolor process could "hide" the car's true colour, and that the car was shipped back for use in front of a greenscreen, the car shown on the program was ultimately proven not to be the film car upon a comparison of the vehicle identification numbers.

• A red Series I Alpine is driven by Elizabeth Taylor in the film BUtterfield 8 (1960) and features in a number of scenes.

• A blue "Series" Alpine roadster is amongst the first on-screen "Bond Cars" when it is rented and driven by James Bond in Dr. No of 1962. It was reportedly borrowed from a local resident, as the only suitable sports car available on the island used for filming.

• Michael Caine's character is rescued by a woman in a white 1968 Alpine roadster in the 1971 British crime film Get Carter. The car is later shunted into a dock with the owner locked in the boot.

• A similar Alpine is seen in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Commando, where it was destroyed.

• A Sunbeam Tiger (the V8 version of the Alpine) was also the vehicle of choice for spy Maxwell Smart in the TV series "Get Smart". It is rumored that an Alpine, outfitted to look like the Tiger, was used for the 'gadget' shots, such as the machine gun that comes up through the hood.

• A Sunbeam Alpine was driven by Imogen Stubbs in the 1990s British TV Series Anna Lee.

Alpine was also a French car manufacturer producing various models until absorbed by Renault in a move unconnected with Renault's takeover of some of the commercial vehicle assets formerly belonging to Chrysler Europe.

• Sunbeam Talbot Alpine Register
• Sunbeam Alpine Owners Club
• Rootes-Chrysler resource site
• Sunbeam Alpine Literature
• Prototype Alpine site