Registration No: HXP 511
Chassis No: 440200
MOT: Exempt

• One of just eight survivors known to the Sunbeam Talbot Alpine Register in the UK
• Understood to have had just three owners from new
• ‘Matching’ engine block and chassis numbers
• Subject to a comprehensive mechanical restoration in 2022
• Charming and rare open-top touring with 2-litre power in an attractive colour combination

Sunbeam, Talbot and Darracq in a sense encapsulate the history of the automobile in Great Britain in the first four decades of the 20th century as domestic manufacturers teamed up with French designers to take advantage of the innovations and refinements flowing from France, then the leader in automobile design and performance. Over time, however, the British developed their own talents, but the names persisted. Sunbeam-Talbot's name first appeared on a car - the 10hp Sports Saloon - in 1938. The latter had been first introduced as the Talbot 10 at the 1935 London Motor Show and was based on a lengthened version of the Hillman Aero Minx's under-slung chassis. Hailed by its makers as 'Britain's Most Exclusive Light Car', the new Sunbeam-Talbot Ten had been re-engineered by Chief Designer Georges Roesch, whose brief had been to extract more power from the engine and provide sufficient room for four passengers, objectives achieved by moving the engine and gearbox forward by 3½" and equipping the Minx motor with an aluminium cylinder head. Introduced in 1939, the Sunbeam-Talbot 2-Litre was based on the Ten, although it used the 2.0-litre side-valve engine from the Hillman 14 (later Humber Hawk).

Manufactured in 1947 and supplied to the United Kingdom, ‘HXP 511’ was sold new via Rootes London to a J. C. Pope Esq of London W8 and is understood to have resided in his ownership until 1983, spending approximately thirty years of this time in storage. Fitted with the desirable (aforementioned) 2.0-litre straight-four engine allied to a four-speed manual transmission, the Sunbeam-Talbot is finished in White with Red leather interior upholstery and is supplied with full weather gear (full tonneau, hood cover, side screen and hood) also finished in Red. With a recorded mileage of 98,800 miles (at time of consignment), the Sunbeam was purchased from the initial owner by the second keeper in 1983 as a restoration project.

Subject to a cosmetic restoration upon purchase of the second keeper, the ash frame was renewed, chassis overhauled, bodywork restored and interior refreshed. In third (current) ownership, the Sports Tourer has received a comprehensive mechanical restoration comprising a complete engine and brake overhaul; wheel refurbishment; re-cored radiator; much re-chroming; re-wiring; and replacement exhaust, fuel tank, front tyres and horns. Converted to an alternator, the Sunbeam ran well during the photography session. Offered with photographs of the restoration, an original owner's handbook, a copy of a workshop manual and a current V5C. Being one of just eight survivors known in the UK to the Sunbeam-Talbot Alpine Register, this is a rare example of a stylish British open-tourer.

For more information, please contact:
Paul Cheetham
paul.cheetham@handh.co.uk
07538 667452