[Tigers] Urban legend

[Ken]

Very Lotus like!

Ken


On 3/8/2020 1:36 PM, Jay Laifman via Tigers wrote:
> Wow.  Thanks Buck.  I've never heard of the Apex (at least that I can 
> remember).  Just did a search and came up with these great pictures 
> and info.  Love the hardtop!
>
> http://tardis.dl.ac.uk/Mercia/killeen_book/node13.html 
> <http://tardis.dl.ac.uk/Mercia/killeen_book/node13.html>
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 8, 2020 at 11:30 AM Buck Trippel via Tigers 
> <tigers at autox.team.net <mailto:tigers at autox.team.net>> wrote:
>
>     The best and most authoritative answers to the why the Tiger was
>     discontinued that I’ve found are in the collection of Papworth
>     papers housed in the Culture Coventry Archive at the Herbert
>     Museum in Coventry.
>
>     Mr Papworth was a very high level “planner” for Rootes. He
>     reported to a very select group, comprised mainly of family
>     members who were the heart of the Rootes board. After his
>     retirement he donated thousands(?) of pages of notes and memos.
>     I’ve spent several days reading them and want to go back.
>
>     Mr. Papworth lays out a very comprehensive Tiger story. The Tiger
>     represented only 2% of Rootes’ sales and was consequentially just
>     a blip on management’s attention. Tigers were barely mentioned in
>     board meetings as the high production Imps and Hillmans dominated
>     the discussions. The Mk1s & 1As sold well. The Mk2 that was built
>     was not the Mk2 that the engineers had designed and tested (with
>     upgraded 5-bolt 14” wheels to fit 4-wheel discs, the same 3-puck
>     calipers used on Aston Martins and street Cobras) and the
>     resulting lack of initial sales seemed to be the straw that broke
>     the camel’s back. But Papworth also outlines other contributing
>     issues.
>
>     Rootes engineers determined that Chrysler V8s would not fit in a
>     Tiger. They explored alternatives including one that would have
>     been built a new “Tiger” with fiberglass body in the USA.
>     Obviously none of those alternatives worked out.
>
>     After Lord Rootes passed away his brother, Reggie, assumed
>     control. Reggie wanted to replace the Alpine/Tiger with a smaller
>     sportscar that was similar to a Spitfire. That car, “Apex”, had
>     been designed and was very close to production when a
>     sub-contractor tripled the initial cost estimate for its
>     fiberglass body. That ended Rootes’ attempt at a replacement
>     sportscar.
>
>     The US government had long imposed standards for the cars it
>     purchased for government use – the GSA standards. These existing
>     GSA standards were eventually adopted for all cars sold in the US.
>     The Alpine/Tiger platform would have needed upgrades to comply.
>     Tooling for these would have been costly on a per unit basis due
>     to low production volume.
>
>     The space used at Pressed Steel to build the Alpines and Tigers
>     was needed by another Rootes vehicle which was high production and
>     therefore a higher priority. Assuming Rootes would accept the cost
>     of upgrades to comply with GSA standards, where could the
>     Alpine/Tiger be built? Rootes looked at alternatives including
>     moving the entire Alpine/Tiger production from Pressed Steel to
>     Jensen. At one point Rootes even offered to purchase Jensen.
>     Jensen refused. The move never happened. Rootes never found an
>     alternate contractor to build the cars.
>
>     Papworth cites all of these factors in the decision to end Tiger
>     production.
>
>     Buck Trippel
>
>     *From:* Tigers <tigers-bounces at autox.team.net
>     <mailto:tigers-bounces at autox.team.net>> *On Behalf Of *Ross Hulse
>     via Tigers
>     *Sent:* Sunday, March 8, 2020 1:57 AM
>     *To:* Curt Bowland <cbowland at msn.com <mailto:cbowland at msn.com>>
>     *Cc:* tigers <tigers at autox.team.net <mailto:tigers at autox.team.net>>
>     *Subject:* Re: [Tigers] Urban legend
>
>     The demise of the Sunbeam Tiger was that they did not sell very
>     well.  The USA import regs for cars would require expensive
>     modifications to the car.  So in February 1967 the decision was
>     made to finish the cars that were in the line and send them to
>     Canada.  Everything about not fitting a Chrysler engine is just a
>     rumor.
>
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-- 
Ken Tisdale
303-807-5488

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