Carroll Shelby, Ken Miles and the Sunbeam Tiger - Poor Man’s Cobra
June 2020 • By Jere Teepen, Sunbeam Tiger owner
Photos courtesy Eric Sawyer, Jere Teepen & Tony Thacker
The Sunbeam Tiger has been the subject of much mis-information since it was introduced at the 1964 New York Auto Show. It is not the intent of this article to try and set the record straight, except one thing: there is no evidence that the Rootes Group, the parent company of Sunbeam, ever put a Chrysler 273 V-8 into a Tiger as some believe. The Humber Super Snipe, however, apparently did receive a Chrysler 318 V-8 and four-speed transmission that was given high marks by the factory, but never went into production.
Based on the successful Sunbeam Alpine, the Tiger was inspired by the success of the Shelby Cobras. Alpines were successful in SCCA racing F Production, but the A and B Production cars received the majority of the fanfare. There was talk of Ferrari producing a cylinder head for the Rootes four-cylinder block, but that did not happen.
Ian Garrad, Rootes Group West Coast Manger, saw the success of the Cobra and in 1963 began searching for a solution to the Alpine’s lack of power. Eventually, Garrad identified Shelby American to produce a V-8 Alpine using Ford’s new 260 motor—its lightweight, thin-wall casting making it a good candidate. As the Shelby V8 Alpine was being constructed and patience was in short supply, Ken Miles constructed his own V-8 Alpine to prove concept viability. The Miles V-8 Alpine was not intended to be completed to the same level as the Shelby version—its purpose was to prove the car’s power-to-weight advantages.
While the Shelby V-8 Alpine was a more thoroughly developed vehicle, the Miles Alpine was more of the cut-and-shut variety. The Shelby car had a revised front crossmember that included rack-and-pinion steering instead of the stock recirculating ball. This allowed the V-8 to be moved further back in the chassis requiring a new transmission tunnel and modified pedal box. The Miles car used the stock steering and an automatic transmission resulting in an unbalanced car but one with great straight-line performance. The Miles V-8 Alpine was driven extensively around Los Angeles building great enthusiasm among those involved in the project.
Meanwhile, mechanic and fabricator George Boskoff was busy with the creation of the Shelby version in Venice, CA. Once completed the car was road tested, signed off and shipped to Rootes in England where it was met with indifference. The car was passed from one level of engineer down to the next until it was finally given a test drive after which excitement pushed the car back up the corporate ladder until Lord William Rootes, head of the Rootes Group, eventually drove it. Upon his successful drive Lord Rootes contacted Henry Ford II to see about supplying engines and transmissions.
Author Jere Teepen’s 289-powered ’65 Mk IA about to go out on the track at Willow Springs Raceway, CA.
Due to production and engineering limitations at Rootes, the project, including production, was sub-contracted to Jensen Motors in West Bromwich. Jensen drew up the items created at Shelby and the production powertrain would consist of a 260, T-10 four speed, and a British Salisbury version of the Dana 44 rear axle plus the modified crossmember, steering, and transmission tunnel.
In early April 1964, the Sunbeam Tiger was introduced to the world but not before a name change. Initially the car was referred to as the Thunderbolt and early filings with the SCCA for racing were under the Thunderbolt name. The name was changed to ‘Tiger’ shortly before the introduction to honor the 1925 Sunbeam Tiger of racer George Eyston. His supercharged V-12 Tiger set a land speed record in March 1926 on the beach at Southport, England, at 152.33 mph.
Three special Kamm-tailed ‘lightweight’ coupes were built by Lister for the ’64 Le Mans GT category but they were 66 lbs heavier than the production car. 7734 KV was the prototype used in Le Mans tests while ADU 179B lasted but three hours in the race. Photos by Eric Sawyer.
The new racing Tiger was met with mixed results. An attempt at Le Mans in 1964 using bodies modified into coupes was stifled by overweight, engine failure and insufficient top speed. However, there was success with firsts in class in the Geneva, Monte Carlo, Scottish, Tulip, and Acropolis Rallies in 1964-65 and there was one overall win in the 1965 International Police Rally. In the US, Shelby campaigned the Tiger during the ’64 season in B Production where driver Lew Spencer had some success. Another well known racing Tiger was built by Doane Spencer of Hollywood Sports Cars. Driven by Jim Adams and winning their class at the Santa Barbara Road Races, the car was off to a good start, but the rest of the season was unsuccessful. There were dealer-sponsored racecars such as the Sports Car Forum Tiger out of Columbus, OH, that was built using the Shelby race Tiger components. The race Tiger having been sent to them after the ’64 season-ending races in the Bahamas where the car was badly damaged. Don Sesslar was the primary driver in B Production during the ’65 season for Sports Car Forum.
Early Tigers were powered by the 260 ci Ford but Jere’s ’65 Mk IA has been fitted with the 289 for which there is plenty of speed equipment, however, there is little room for multi-carb set ups.
It always seemed a little strange to lift the forward-opening hood and see the words TIGER POWERED BY FORD, nevertheless, the combo worked.
During the production life of the Tiger there were three models, Mark I, Mark IA and Mark II. A significant change took place early in Mark I production when the T-10 was changed to the HEH Toploader. The big change came with the Mark II that was equipped with the 289 engines. The Mark II also saw the elimination of the stainless side trim, headlight doors changed to a non-cowled version, egg crate grille, rocker stripes, and stainless wheel arch moldings were added. Approximately 7,085 Sunbeam Tigers were made encompassing all marks and racing cars.
Today, Tigers still struggle to break away from the ‘poor man’s Cobra’ sobriquet. Stock Tigers are not good racecars, however, they are good on the road and there are many upgrades including modern suspensions, five-speed transmissions, wheels and tires, etc. All the typical modifications for the Ford small-block can be applied to the Tiger to create a fun, fast, and durable British sports car. There are annual regional, national, and international events put on by the marque clubs including the California Association of Sunbeam Tiger Owners, Sunbeam Tiger Owners Association and Tigers East/Alpines East.
Green Mk II was the last of 7,085 Sunbeam Tigers produced. Mk II’s were fitted with Ford’s 289. Note their egg-crate grille, de-hooded headlights, deleted side trim and stainless wheel arch moldings compared to the blue Mk I. Photos by Jere Teepen.
Finally, Tiger survival rate has been good with around half of them surviving. The Shelby American and Ken Miles V-8 Alpines survive, the three Le Mans Tiger coupes all exist, some still campaigned in vintage racing, the Doane Spencer Hollywood Sports Car Tiger and the Sports Car Forum Tiger also survive as does the car displayed in New York. Sunbeam Tigers are currently vintage raced in many sanctioned organizations by enthusiastic owners as well as the many owners of street Tigers that enjoy them for what they provide: a unique and fast Anglo-American sports car at an affordable price.