The Thirty was designed to take on the likes of Rolls-Royce and Daimler. = It would have been very smooth and quiet, something Roesch excelled at. I th= ink it is also highly unlikely that any Thirty prototypes ever left England.
More likely what he saw was a Super Sports Sunbeam. (See http://www.petrie.starway.net.au/~sunbeam/models/3litre.htm). These were built from 1925 to 1930. They were aimed squarely at Bentley and well and truly defeated Bentley at LeMans in 1925.
That car would be worth a considerable amount of money today. A six figur= e sum for sure, whether we're talking pounds or dollars.
Russ Maddock Brisbane, Australia
http://www.petrie.starway.net.au/~sunbeam Sunbeam Imp Sport Talbot Alpine GLS Sunbeam Alpine SIII GT Peugeot 505 STi
-----Original Message----- From: Jerome Yuzyk <jerome(at)supernet.ab.ca> To: alpines(at)autox.team.net <alpines(at)autox.team.net> Date: Tuesday, 21 July 1998 8:39 Subject: 'Super Sunbeam' (fwd)
>About once a week I get an interesting e-mail pop up in my inbox, from
>someone who stumbled across my Pages and got charged up enough to send
>me a lengthy bit of volunteered knowledge/experience. This morning is
>was about Amilcars (did you know Isadora Duncan died in an Amilcar, not
>a Bugatti, as was commonly thought). Anyway, this fellow sent me
>something a while back, and since this is the only Sunbeam list I use,
>thought it would be of interest and perhaps some reaction here.
>
>-------- 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 Caf=E9 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 =
-
>