1964-67 Sunbeam Tiger (Mk I/II)

by Gary Anderson

Twisting frame confirms operational accelerator.

Call it the poor man’s Cobra; you wouldn’t be challenged in many quarters. It had an English body and chassis, and was originally produced to have a relatively anemic four-cylinder engine. The hybrid was powered first by a 260-c.i. Ford V8 and then for a short time by the Ford 289. And the original prototype was put together by ol’ Carroll hisself at Shelby America. Meet the Sunbeam Tiger.

Unlike the Cobra, the Tiger was assembled in Britain by Jensen, using trimmed rolling chassis supplied by Rootes to accept the Ford engines. But also unlike the Cobra, with a little patience and some knowledgeable advice, you can find one of these retro-rockets for less than the price of a good used Miata.

The Sunbeam Tiger was conceived out of the Sunbeam Alpine, a tight and comfortable two-seat sports car produced by Rootes. Unfortunately, the Alpine was powered by a four-cylinder engine and lacked in performance when compared to the MGs or Alfas of the day,...