Sunbeam (car Company) - Post-war

Post-war

In 1919 Darracq bought the London-based firm of Clément-Talbot (becoming Talbot-Darracq) in order to import Talbots into England from France. On August 13, 1920, Sunbeam merged with the French company Automobiles Darracq S.A.. Alexandre Darracq built his first car in 1896, and his cars were so successful that Alfa Romeo and Opel both started out in the car industry by building Darracqs under licence. Adding Sunbeam created Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq, or STD Motors.

In addition to quality limousine, saloon and touring cars, Coatalen was pleased to build racing cars for Henry Segrave—who won the French and Spanish GPs in 1923/4. He also built a Brooklands racer for K L Guinness—based on a V12 27 litre 350 hp (260 kW) Sunbeam Manitou engine, originally designed to power the R34 airship. This famous car (Sunbeam 350HP) established a new Land Speed Record at Brooklands and in Malcolm Campbell’s hands at Pendine Sands where it achieved 150.766 mph (242.634 km/h) in 1925 after renaming it Blue Bird and painting it blue. The same year Coatalen’s new 3 litre Super Sports came 2nd at Le Mans—beating Bentley—this was the first production twin-cam car in the world. In 1926 Segrave captured the LSR in a new 4 litre V12 Sunbeam racer originally named Ladybird and later renamed Tiger. Coatalen decided to re-enter the LSR field himself, building the truly gigantic Sunbeam 1000HP powered by two 450 hp (340 kW) Matabele engines. On 29 March 1927 the car captured the speed record at 203.792 mph (327.971 km/h). The car is now at the National Motor Museum, Beaulieu, UK.

Sunbeam's great age was really the 1920s under Coatalen’s leadership with very well engineered, high quality, reliable cars — and a great reputation on the track.

A later land speed record attempt, the 1930 Silver Bullet, failed to achieve either records, or the hoped-for advances in aero engines. It is now almost forgotten. Sunbeam did not really survive the depression and in 1935 went into receivership and was sold to Lord Rootes. The last true Sunbeam was made in 1935. The new entry model “Dawn” was a typical mid-1930’s design with independent front suspension whereas other models, the 18.2HP and Speed 20 were based on Vintage designs and qualify as PVT under VSCC rules.

Coatalen’s obsession with improvement meant that there were numerous small changes in models from year to year. Therefore although all his designs are basically similar, very few parts are interchangeable.

In the Vintage period, typically two models dominated production volumes at each period:

• 1920–24 16 hp, 16/40, 24 hp, 24/60 & 24/70 all based on pre-war designs.
• 1922–23 14 hp The first highly successful post-war 4-cylinder.
• 1924 12/30 & 16/50 only produced in small numbers.
• 1924–26 14/40 and big brother 20/60 developed from 14 hp with 2 more cylinders added.
• 1926–30 3 litre Super Sports, highly successful and much coveted, the first production twin OHC car in the world.
• 1926–30 16 hp (16.9) & 20 hp (20.9). Two new designs with six-cylinder integral cast iron block and crankcase. Both were reliable capable cars produced over many years, (20.9) with a 3-litre engine producing 70 BHP is noted for its performance and is well respected as a practical and reliable touring car. It has many shared components with the 3-litre Super Sports (brakes, suspension, steering, axles, gearbox, transmission).
• 1926–32 20/60 developed into 25 hp with bore increased from 75 to 80 mm. A few 8-cylinder cars produced in this period, 30 hp & 35 hp.
• 1930–32 16 hp bore increased from 67 to 70 mm, (16.9 to 18.2 hp).
• 1931–33 New model 20 hp introduced with 80 mm bore and 7 main bearings rated at 23.8 hp. Very smooth and powerful engine.
• 1933 18.2 hp engine installed in Speed 20 chassis and renamed ‘Twenty’.
• 1933–34 20.9 hp engine resurrected and installed in new cruciform braced chassis for the Speed 20. Highly desirable model especially the 1934 body style.
• 1933–35 Twenty-Five introduced with modified 1931–33 23.8 hp engine.
• 1934 Twenty given the 20.9 engine in place of the 18.2.
• 1934–35 Dawn introduced. 12.8 hp (9.5 kW) engine and IFS. Nice little car but not a great success.
• 1935 Speed 20 renamed Sports 21 with redesigned body style.
• 1935 Sports 21 given a high compression version of Twenty-Five engine.

The most successful, judged by volumes, was the 16 hp (16.9) followed by 20 hp (20.9) made from 1926 to 1930. Whilst the 16 was solid and very reliable, it was a little underpowered at 2.1 litres, the 20.9 made a big jump to 3 litres and 70 bhp (52 kW; 71 PS) with similar body weight and vacuum servo brakes and was capable of 70 mph (110 km/h).

Sunbeam built their own bodies but also supplied to the coachbuilder trade; many limousines were built on Sunbeam chassis. The sales catalogue illustrates the standard body designs.