-------- Forwarded message -------- Date: Thu, 16 Jul 1998 21:29:15 -0700 From: "Charles A. Smith" <talisman(at)mail.pacificcoast.net> To: jerome(at)supernet.ab.ca Subject: 'Super Sunbeam'
Jerome - I got your address by searching for 'Sunbeam Classics' on Netscape and taking it from there.
During the summer of 1936 a beautiful British sports car driven by two obviously wealthy young men drove through the city of Brandon, Manitoba where I lived. They stopped for lunch at the Olympia Cafi on 10th Street and attracted a great deal of attention. Quite a crowd had collected by the time they were finished, As a kid I was particularly impressed by the powerful throaty rumble of the engine. I asked the driver what type of vehicle it was.
"This is a Super Sunbeam!" he exclaimed with what I thought was a somewhat condescending air, and roared up the street, turned right on Princess Avenue and, as we teen-aged yokels stood in awe, thundered off to the west.
Through the years since then I asked many people interested in vintage autos if they had ever heard of a Super Sunbeam. No one had and I felt pretty much assured that the aristocratic young Britishers had been pulling my leg. It wasn't until 1975 that the mystery was solved. I was living in Los Angeles, having just completed the restoration of a 1951 MG-TD and being very interested in that pursuit, I visited a store in Burbank, California that specialized in old auto manuals and memorabilia. I told my story about the Sunbeam with the powerful engine.
"No, I'm sure you must have been mistaken." the proprietor told me, "Sunbeam has always built low-powered economical vehicles for the lower end of the market." I agreed that was my understanding as well, but he began looking in various catalogs he had - more to confirm his knowledge of Sunbeam's history than anything - when amazingly he found the following in one of his records;
"In 1936 Sunbeam decided there was a market for a luxury car and decided to build such a vehicle: They used a George Roesch designed 4.5-litre over-head valve, straight eight cylinder engine, developing 150 bhp (at) 4600 rpm. The vehicle had independent front suspension. It was scheduled for production in 1937 but never made it. Four prototypes alone were built."
The book store owner was very excited about my 'sighting' as he called it.
End of story - perhaps this is old hat to you but I thought I would pass it on. In reading the 'History of Sunbeam' under Russell's Page I found reference to the Sunbeam 30 which seems to fit that description, it says - 'The Rootes brothers decided to take the prototype on a continental holiday. Unfortunately, before they reached the channel the chassis broke!'
I'm wondering now if they either repaired that prototype, or took another, and did a tour of Canada instead. Perhaps the two aristocratic Britishers I spoke to were indeed the Rootes brothers.
Cheers - Charles
---- J e r o m e Y u z y k | jerome(at)supernet.ab.ca - - BRIDGE Scientific Services | www.tgx.com/bridge - - Sunbeam Alpine Series II #9118636 | www.tgx.com/bridge/sunbeam -