While it looks like its rip-snorting brother, the Tiger, today's Nice Price or No Dice Sunbeam is its less raucous sibling, the four-cylinder Alpine. Let's see if it's priced to make up for that less-meaner demeanor.
Automakers put a lot of thought into naming their cars and trucks. When a model proves successful, the name enters a pantheon of words more commonly associated with machinery than the original usage. A perfect example of this is "Mustang," which, when mentioned, leads most of us to picture
the Ford pony car, not a wild horse of the American Southwest.
It's the same thing within the deep well of musical notations, out of which have been pulled bucketfuls of automotive model names. For many, the names Austin Maestro and Allegro, Honda Beat and Ballade, and many more all conjure up images of cars, not evenings at the orchestra. Interestingly, Allegro was an early contender at Ford for the car that would eventually become the production Mustang. Ford finally got around to leveraging the music milieu when it introduced the Tempo in the 1980s.
The 1993 Ford Tempo GL we looked at yesterday offered sensible transportation and a surprising five-speed manual transmission. At a $2,700 asking, you all didn't miss a beat, giving the Ford a noteworthy 73% Nice Price win.
Read more: These Are The Car-Related Movie Mistakes That Really Bother You
Get Smart
Speaking of naming, today's 1966 Sunbeam came with two arguably cool names: the four-cylinder Alpine and the Ford-powered V8 Tiger. At one time, both were used in the 1960s TV comedy, 'Get Smart.' In the series, Agent 86, played with razor-sharp comedic timing by actor Don Adams, opened each episode with a title sequence showing him arriving in a sports car at his spy network HQ. In the show's rarely seen pilot episode, Agent 86 arrives in a blue Ferrari 250 GT PF Cabriolet. That was replaced in the series with a Sunbeam Tiger, and in later seasons, a VW Karmann Ghia and an Opel GT.
Of all of those, the Tiger is the most interesting, not just because it's the coolest, with its Ford V8, but because it had a four-cylinder Alpine serving as its stand-in for many of the close-up gags. As 'Get Smart' was a parody of the James Bond films, Agent 86 naturally had to have a gadget-laden car to assist with his fight against the evil KAOS organization. The show's producers wanted the Tiger to have an under-hood gun, smoke screen and oil slick deployment, and even an ejector seat. The problem was that some of the hardware—notably the under-hood gun—wouldn't fit in the Tiger, so an Alpine was instead modified and re-branded as a Tiger for the scenes requiring the spy machinery.
Not A Tiger
Like Maxwell Smart's car, this 1966 Sunbeam Aline Mark V is red with black upholstery and wears full factory wheel covers. Unlike the Get Smart car, however, there are no guns, rotating license plates, or smoke bombs.
It's also not a Tiger, so there's no V8 under the hood. Instead, there's Sunbeam's stout 1725 cc OHV inline four equipped with a pair of Zenith Stromberg 150 CD side-draught carburetors. From the factory, that set up makes a claimed 93 horsepower (gross). This car has that paired with a desirable Laycock-de-Normanville overdrive on the standard four-speed manual gearbox.
Per the seller, a new clutch resides between the engine and transmission. The ad also notes the replacement of the windscreen, new Koni shocks front and rear, as well as fresh Michelin XVS rubber. The car is described as being otherwise all original and to come with a "good history." According to the listing, it has 75,000 miles under its belt and has a clean title.
Can You Top That?
Appearing to be a turn-key classic, this Alpine would allow anybody to get their fix of Agent 86 (or Barbara Feldon's saucy Agent 99) even if it isn't a Tiger. The car looks to be in great shape in the pictures, with all its chrome trim shining brightly in the sun and all the correct badging.
We don't get to see much of the interior since it's masked by the included tonneau cover, which raises another question: Does the car have any sort of top? Nothing is mentioned in the ad, and the car is only shown with the tonneau in place, so it begs the question of whether or not this is nothing more than a fair-weather friend.
Speaking of friends, this Alpine sure seems to be in good company. The pictures in the Craigslist ad show, among its brethren, a Land Rover pickup, V4 Saab 96, Lotus Cortina, Lotus Elan and Seven, and a Rover P6. I wonder if the seller is up for adopting an adult child?
Making Its Mark
The asking price for this Alpine is $10,000, which places it squarely in the range of a similarly specified and condition MBGs. Naturally, the MG would have vastly better parts availability, considering you can basically build one out of the Moss Motors catalog. The Sunbeam, on the other hand, is much rarer and hence, a bit more interesting. Of course, it would be nice if it were the V8 Tiger, but with real deal Tigers going for six figures these days, maybe the four-pot Alpine is the more attractive option at the moment.
What do you think? Is this Alpine pretty attractive at that $10,000 asking? Or for that much, would it not be a "smart get?"
You decide!
Seattle, Washington, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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