- Photographed at Coffee 'n' Chrome Morphettville, South Australia - February 2019

Get Smart Tiger

A 1965 Sunbeam Tiger as driven by Maxwell Smart

The Sunbeam Tiger has one of the most fascinating stories of any car I've ever known! If you just want pictures - scroll down!

Perhaps best known for being the steed of choice for the bumbling Maxwell Smart in the famous TV Series "Get Smart", the Tiger is so much more than that! The link to Get Smart itself is an amazing twist - read to the bottom for the secret!

The Tiger came about from a desire by the British Rootes Group to build a high performance version of their gorgeous and popular (but underpowered) Sunbeam Alpine. And thereafter comes a true story which could not be made up - a story full of coincidences, missed and grabbed opportunities. Of lies, deceit, successes and failures.

The Concept

Born from a desire to have a more powerful Alpine that would be more acceptable in World markets, the Tiger was imagined to be powered by a Ferrari designed engine, which would have added a huge credibility and desirability factor into the already modern and stylish car. Sadly Enzo Ferrari - notoriously difficult to deal with - did not come to the party and the deal was quashed.

The Co-incidences

Enter another famous player - Jack Brabham (not a Sir yet!) who suggested to Norman Garrad (the Rootes Competition Manager) that a Ford V8 would make an eminently suitable power plant for the Tiger!

And now a lucky coincidence - Norman's son (Ian) lived close to Carroll Shelby, and Ian approached Carroll to develop a prototype with a similar V8 conversion to the legendary AC Cobra.

According to the anecdotes of journalist William Carroll, the Alpine's engine bay was measured with "a 'precision' instrument of questionable antecedents" (ie a wooden yardstick) Ian Garrad sent his service manager Walter McKenzie around local new car dealerships, looking for a suitably sized V8 engine. McKenzie determined that a Ford 260 V8 engine seemed to be suitable, and was relatively light at 440 lb (200 kg).

Shelby provided an estimate of eight weeks and $10,000 to construct a prototype.

Ian then approached the head of sales for the Rootes Group, Brian Rootes, for the funding and authorisation required to build a prototype,

Enter some deceit!

Brian Rootes sounds like an interesting and possibly calculating man, because he was later reported as saying "Well all right, at that price when can we start? But for God's sake keep it quiet from Dad [Lord Rootes] until you hear from me. I'll work the $10,000 (£3,571) out some way, possibly from the advertising account."

Prototyping the Tiger

And the Tiger project started to become a reality.

Ian Garrad, who was impatient to establish whether the conversion was feasible, commissioned local racing driver and fabricator Ken Miles to build an initial prototype immediately. Miles was given a budget of $800, a Series II Alpine, a Ford V8 engine and a 2-speed automatic transmission.

A week later he had a running V8 conversion, proving the concept was feasible.

Simultaneously Shelby began work on the "real" prototype, which became known as "the white car", and later "the Thunderbolt".

In late April 1963 it was given trial runs around Los Angeles.

Ian Garrad tested an early version of the car and was so impressed that a glowing report was provided to Brian Rootes: "we have a tremendously exciting sports car which handles extremely well and has a performance equivalent to an XX-K Jaguar ... it is quite apparent that we have a most successful experiment that can now be developed into a production car."

Getting the Tiger into production

When the production plan was submitted for approval by Lord Rootes, he was reportedly "very grumpy" when learning of the effort that had gone into the Tiger project without his knowledge.

He reluctantly agreed to shipping the Shelby prototype across from America in July 1963 for him and his team to assess.

After insisting on driving the car himself, Lord Rootes was so impressed that on finishing his test drive he contacted Henry Ford II directly to negotiate a deal for the supply of Ford V8 engines.

The Tiger gets its identity

Just before the public unveiling at the New York Motor Show in April 1964 Rootes renamed the Thunderbolt to the Tiger, a change inspired by Sunbeam's 1925 land-speed-record holder of that name.

Production of the Tiger

Shelby had anticipated being given the contract to produce the Tiger in America, but Lord Rootes was uncomfortable with the closeness of Shelby's relationship with Ford, and decided to build the car in England.

The Ryton Rootes factory lacked the capacity to build the Tiger, so the the job was contracted to Jensen in West Bromwich.

Shelby was pacified with an offer from Rootes to pay him an undisclosed royalty on every Tiger built.

Options

Sunbeam Dealers were able to offer several performance modifications, including a modified engine with 245hp (up from the standard 164 hp) at a cost of an additional $250.

The Technical stuff

The Sunbeam Tiger Mark I was built from 1964–67. 6450 were made in total, fitted with a Ford V8 of 260 cu in (4.3 L) capacity. The V8 produced 164 bhp (122 kW) @ 4400 rpm, giving the car a 0–60 mph (97 km/h) time of 8.6 seconds and a top speed of 120 mph (190 km/h).

The Mark II version was built only in 1967 and just 633 were made. The Ford V8 was upgraded to 289 cu in (4.7 L), performance increased to a 0–60 mph (97 km/h) time of 7.5 seconds, with the top speed increasing to 122 mph (196 km/h),

Priced at $3842, the Mark II Tiger was not cheap - an equivalent V8 Ford Mustang that year sold for $2898.

Press

A 1965 article from British magazine Motor Sport reported that "No combination of an American V8 and a British chassis could be happier."

Racing History

Two Tigers were entered into the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, but neither managed to last long enough to cross the finish line. The Tiger did compete in European rallies with a little success, and for two years held the American Hot Rod Association's quarter-mile drag strip national record!

Production History

Two versions were built - the Mark 1 from 1964 until 1967 (with some body panel changes in 1967 which some call a Mark 1a), and the Mark 2, produced only in 1967.

Ironically production was stopped in 1967 when Chrysler (a company known for providing engines to external companies) took over the Rootes Group and did not have suitable engine available to replace the Ford V8.

The truth of the Get Smart connection

Don Adams, who played Maxwell Smart, bought the Tiger used in the series when it (the series) ended and later passed it along to his daughters; it is supposedly on display at the Los Angeles Playboy Mansion. Rootes advertised the car extensively in Playboy magazine and even loaned a pink Tiger with matching interior to the 1965 Playmate of the Year Jo Collins.

In 2008 the Tiger featured in the film version of the Get Smart TV series. A replica Tiger was created using a stock Sunbeam Alpine and Tiger badging as no Tiger could be obtained in Canada, where the film was made. The production team recorded the sound of a real Tiger owned by a collector in Los Angeles and later edited it into the film.

The Pictures

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Comments (8)

  • Love the Tiger! I really want a Harrington coupe version. Great article!

      2 years ago
  • Great looking car and a nice history lesson!

      2 years ago
  • Every great classic car story has a bit of deceit in it. The Volvo P1800. The Morris Minor. The Miura, to a degree.

      2 years ago
    • The P1800 actually featured in here, but I left that bit out for the sake of not writing war and peace.

        2 years ago
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