Originally aimed at the North American market, where British sports cars were enjoying considerable success, the Sunbeam Alpine was produced in five series between 1959 and 1968. Built on the Hillman Husky II floor pan, the Alpine employed Sunbeam Rapier running gear and the same 1.5 litre, overhead-valve, four-cylinder engine found in many of Rootes' other products. 

In GT form the unit boasted an alloy cylinder head and twin carburettors, producing 78bhp, an output good enough for a maximum speed of almost 100mph. The Alpine was progressively improved through Series II-V, with an automatic gearbox introduced alongside the standard all-synchromesh manual gearbox in the Series IV in 1964. 

The Series IV had an enlarged 1,590cc engine with a single Solex Carburettor producing 82hp and was available as a ST or GT version.  The ST had a folding soft top, whereas the GT came with a removable hardtop combined with a tonneau cover.

This rare automatic Alpine was delivered new to Dolphin Square Garage, London SW1 and first registered on the 2nd March 1965.  There is a letter in the history file dated 19th March from the Sales Director of Dolphin Square congratulating the new owner on his purchase! Since then the Alpine has had 5 owners and covered a carefully documented 40,000 miles only. 

The first owner kept the car until 1988!  From 2005 to 2016 the Alpine was exhibited at the Malta Classic Car Museum before being spotted and purchased by the last owner who returned the Alpine to the UK and treated it to gentle recommissioning between 2017 and 2019.

It’s not often that a car that is 57 years old has such a well-documented life.  It’s more usual for the early paperwork to become lost when changing owners but having had just 5 in its lifetime has obviously helped.  There is a substantial amount from the pre delivery inspection document to bills for early servicing, and a large and complete wad of MoTs from 1968 to 2006 when it went to Malta.  

There is a further MoT certificate from July 2017 when it arrived back in the UK and was re-assigned its original 1965 registration. With this much documentation there is no doubt that the low 40,000 mileage is genuine.

The older paperwork is enclosed in a charming dog-eared folder with a picture of the Alpine with the name “Dolly”.  Inside there is a comprehensive history of the Alpine’s early life, with copy of a buff logbook, tax receipts, insurance certificates and garage bills, all handwritten or typed and very historic!  There is a list of the previous owners which tallies with the names on the invoices through the years.  

A spiral bound guide to the Malta Classic Car Museum features the Alpine on page 57.  There is a copy of a Sunbeam Alpine Owner’s Manual, plus a supplement covering the Type 35 Borg Warner automatic gearbox.  Operating instructions for the original LW/MW are included, which we listened to as we took the photographs –so it works!

There are also bills for the more recent work from Shakespeare Garage in Buxton, when the car was recommissioned upon its return to the UK.  The head was rebuilt to run on unleaded and the Alpine received new tyres, battery and a new carburettor.  It also had some minor repairs to the offside rear quarter panel, tail light and bumper that had been damaged during the journey from Malta.  

The rear bumper was replaced with a second hand one that was re-chromed. At that time the car was also Waxoyled, including cavities. A new MoT was performed upon completion in July 2017 at 36,962 miles, a copy of which is on file.

Virtually any work that was carried out over the past 57 years is documented in the history file from oil changes to spark plugs; it’s really quite extraordinary.

The red interior makes a pleasant change from the usual black, and much of it appears to be nicely original. The seat covers and floor carpets look like they may have been replaced, but the carpet over the transmission hump and in the rear looks to be original.  The seats are smart red vinyl with black piping with a few marks, but no rips or holes. 

There are Britax 3 point seat belts for the front seats, but none in the rear. The carpet is a bit tatty around the gear selector but the vendor hopes to have this tidied with a rubber bezel before the Alpine goes to its new owner.  The dash area is very original with no added gauges or switches.  The wood veneer is excellent, and the gauges are all clear and crack free, and are functioning correctly. The door panels are very tidy with no foot marks, and the sill areas are very clean. 

The passenger side sunvisor is a bit droopy and unwilling to stay up as can be seen in the photos, probably due to the weight of the mirror; it should be an easy fix. The rear seat area is equally clean, smart and nicely finished.  In the boot there is no sign of damp, and as far as we could see the boot floor is completely free of corrosion.  All the tools are correctly mounted either side of the vertically mounted spare wheel, behind a cover.

Being a GT there is a well fitted full tonneau cover that unzips to allow the Alpine to be driven with the tonneau in place over the rear and passenger sides; fine for a summer shower.

The white paint is actually a Rootes group colour Moonstone, which is quite a “soft” white which complements the red interior. Well applied it is free of any blemishes or flat areas, and looks great. The shut lines are excellent for a car of this age, and the doors open and shut easily with no drop.

The paint finish is excellent, and all the chromework has a good shine with no pitting.  All the lettering badges and emblems are in excellent condition. The 13 inch spoked wheels are knock-off style, all with Uniroyal Rain Expert 3 tyres with very little wear.  The spare is matching and unused.

We fitted the removable hardtop and can report that it mounted well and as can be seen in the photos, it really suits the car.  Inside the roof lining is clean with just the odd mark here and there. With it fitted it gives the Alpine year round usability and plenty of headroom that a soft top just can’t match.

We drove the Alpine on the day of our visit and it was running sweetly, with smooth changes from the Borg Warner box.  The 1600cc unit is no race engine but suits the car and auto box well and makes for a really relaxed drive with just enough poke to keep the driver busy!  With so much well documented work completed recently there are likely to be few surprises from under the bonnet.

Underneath the Alpine all looks well undersealed with only a little surface rust on exposed areas and no major leaks or drips.

 

As the Rootes group were focussed on the “export or die” motto of the mid-sixties finding an original UK supplied right hand Alpine is quite unusual, but one that is such low mileage and boasting an automatic gearbox makes this a real rarity.  Being a GT means it has its matching removable hardtop and a summertime tonneau; no fiddly and poorly fitting soft top to spoil the lines!  

With the more restrained lines of the later Series Alpines we think this is a particularly nice example with exceptionally low miles and an impeccable history file.  They don’t come better than this!