Sunbeam Alpine GT MkV

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Sunbeam, now part of the Rootes organisation, first announced its Alpine sports model in 1959. The new car was a change of direction for Sunbeam and was aimed squarely at the younger MG/Triumph TR market – previous models being larger touring cars.

It was styled by the great industrial designer, Ken Howes and was heavily influenced by his previous work - the Ford Thunderbird which lent it oodles of Trans-Atlantic glamour. At first the car was powered by a 78bhp 1,494cc four-cylinder engine but in the MkII of 1960 this was replaced by an 80bhp 1,592cc unit.

In 1963 the MkIII arrived with larger front brake discs, a bigger boot and a revised interior. Power went up by another 2bhp the following year with the Series IV, easily recognised by its much smaller tail fins. The final model was the Series V which ran from 1965 to 1968 and had a 92bhp twin carb 1,725cc Holbay engine, enough to power the Alpine to an easy 100mph.

All were fine cars, being perhaps the most habitable, practical and everyday useable sportscars of their era. The driving position is excellent, the door apertures are wide allowing easy entrance and exit, the boot space is generous and the handling is exemplary thanks to a notably rigid structure. Great for shopping but also a real hoot on twisty B-roads, the Alpine is perhaps the ideal classic sportscar.

This overdrive-equipped 1966 Mk V was supplied new through Harrington Motors in Hove. It was sold to a local man, Mr French who kept it until 1972. A DVLA printout and the original buff logbook give details of its subsequent owners which total eight including the vendor.

The car appears to have been fitted with a Chrysler replacement engine at some time and comes with a mass of bills dating as far back as 1986 (when the car was just 20 years old). It was purchased by the vendor in early 2014 and is only for sale as he has found that he isn’t using it as much as he had hoped.

It comes with a ‘GT’ soft top conversion kit from Alpine West Midlands, a fiberglass hard top and sits on a set of sexy Cosmic wheels. Since purchase, the vendor has replaced the alternator, steering idler bushes, sump gasket, dipswitch and fitted a Kenlowe fan on the recommendation of the Alpine club.

He has enjoyed driving and improving it, adding that there are areas of micro blistering on the paintwork which would benefit from attention at some point. The car has covered just 9,000 miles over the last 13 years, the odometer registering 96,200 miles at its last MOT which expires in August 2016

An ideal car to use and improve, it is due to be driven some 30 miles to the sale and can be enjoyed straight away.