Rods & Classics: Tiger Tales
Story by Budd Stanley
Easily the most popular Anglo-American automotive venture was the Shelby Cobra. The mating of a 427 V8 to a pint-size AC Ace proved to be devastating to any other competition. However, in 1964, Shelby America was also connected to another British classic sports car, the Sunbeam Tiger.
The Tiger started out life as the Alpine, a stereotypical ’60s British sports car. It had a small lightweight roadster body with raised headlight lines that carried all the way to the rear taillights, with nothing more than a windshield on top. The original Alpine was powered by a 1.6L four-cylinder that produced 80 hp with single Solex carburetor. It was in 1963, that Rootes (the British Group that built the Sunbeam) West Coast Sales Manager for America, Ian Garrad, thought that the Alpine was not living up to its sports car title, and was viewed more as a tourer. So he and Western Service Manager, Walter McKenzie, set about trying to add a little more excitement to the little Alpine.
It was at this time that Shelby’s Cobra was setting the world alight with the novel concept of inserting huge American muscle into a small British chassis. So both Garrad and McKenzie measured out the Alpine’s engine bay, and several V8 options they felt would work. The ideal candidate was the 260-cubic inch Windsor V8 from Ford. It fit nicely between the frame rails and gave a much needed power injection, to the tune of 164 hp. With a good working theory, Garrad took the project idea to John Panks, Director of Rootes in America. The two set up a meeting with Carroll Shelby to discuss if the Alpine had the same potential as the Cobra. Shelby agreed, and engineering began on a working prototype at the Shelby workshop.
Under the supervision of Shelby’s Phil Remington, the 260 was indeed fitted, with a Borg Warner T-10 4-speed transmission sending power back to a Salisbury rear-end. Only a slight relief was needed on the firewall, while a dual exhaust, rack-and-pinion steering and the upgrading of the coolant system was added. This working prototype was shipped back to the Rootes HQ in Britain. With British pride getting the better of the engineers, the initial response to the Americanization of their beloved Alpine did not go over well at first. This all changed once the car was taken out onto the road. Lord Rootes himself drove the car and was immediately impressed with its abilities, despite driving with the hand brake up the entire time.
With that, an agreement was reached with Ford for an order of 3,000 units of the 260 Windsor V8, while the factory started their own development to turn the prototype into a mass production vehicle. Wanting to keep the new car unique from the four-cylinder Alpine, Rootes took the name Tiger, which spawned from the Sunbeam Tiger World Land Speed Record car that topped 150 mph in 1925.
Pre-production testing was entrusted to Jensen, another company known for its Anglo-American relationships. The Jensen factory was then commissioned to build the car, and a total of 7,085 units would leave the West Bromwich plant. Production began in 1964, and in ’67, a Mark II was produced, upping engine displacement from 260 to 289 cu. These highly-coveted 200-hp versions are quite rare, as only 536 examples were ever built. This was due to the tragic killing of the cat in ’67, when Chrysler bought out the Rootes Group. Chrysler noticed after the acquisition that a Ford engine powered the Tiger. Owning a company that used the enemy’s power was never going to stand in the Chrysler camp, and since Chrysler did not have a suitable replacement to the Windsor, the Tiger was shot dead.
Today the Tiger lives on as a well-loved collectors car. The car’s short life, impressive performance and Shelby influence make the car a truly special breed, while the production numbers mean that the car is attainable by the common man, very much unlike the Cobra, which can only be realistically acquired as a kit car replica. Original examples typically sell between $15,000 and $25,000.
Related Posts
© Copyright RPM Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. Site Designed by JC Design