Oh, the 60's. Era of the Mustangs, the Minis, E-Types and also the Sunbeam Tiger. But just, just before the Brits decide to shove a V8 into the little convertible, the Tiger was called the Alpine and boy, do I like it.
I'm not very fond of convertibles, to be honest. I do like seeing classic convertibles because they tell you of the lifestyle they were selling at the time, but still I can't see myself owning one.
But that is besides the point of this article because the point is... That thing it's bloody quick. I'm aware that my 115hp Celica isn't a precisely fast car but it's not slow if you take it to the mountains to have a bit of safe fun.
Before I get into details about that day, let me tell you a little bit about this car: the engine it's a small 1.6L straight four with 82hp with the solex carburattor. This being the 4 series, it includes a 4speed manual with synchromesh on first gear. I know 80hp does not makes this a fast car but it only weights 1090Kgs, so it makes it a quick little car.
Aaaanyways, the past saturday I went to the TF-21, a lovely piece of road that goes up to 2.800m high (I recommend to google it) to film this car along the way. I set up my camera on the bonnet of my car and said through the radio: "Okay, you go first, I follow you". This is a short taste of what follows:
So yeah, you can imagine the face of the other two occupants of my car and I had when we see this 55 year old car just unexpectedly pulling away from us. "Wait, he is hammering that thing" I remember saying and having to focus on keeping up through the corners.
"Wait, he is hammering that thing"
On the next stop to change camera set up, the penny dropped: "I've driving on this road practically all of my life since my father was a hunter and we used to come around here and I still drive up to the volcano every other weekend ", he said.
Seeing this little red convertible, flying between the trees gave me some food for thought. We don't make cars like we used to. At least when it comes to little quicky fun cars. I don't think we can even compare to the cars we had (well, my parents) in the 90s.
Let's be honest, sticking with convertibles, can you name one, with under 200hp that looks good, sounds good and it's half of fun to drive as this little Sunbeam? Maybe the 124/MX5 but I can't think of any other and it's kind of sad because there is a market for these kind of cars. The roads here are flooded with tourist driving rented 124s and NA MX5s are skyrocketing on prices... That means that people like these kind of vehicle but no, brands are only focusing on making daily drivers that are comfy and cheap (nothing wrong about it, honestly) and forgetting that cars are more than just a tool. They can be toys to have fun on the weekends.
If like me, you are now going to take a look at Alpines for sale, have in mind that is a classic car so, obviously, the price it's going up. But this is a car that was overlooked for the TR4s, E-Types, Elans, and even his "son" the Sunbeam Tiger so after a brief search I found some good examples for 12.000€... But so does a 3cyl VW Polo. You choose.
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Comments (4)
Ahh what a lovely car it is! Fantastic piece, Aarón. Sounds like a pretty good day, too.
Thank you! It was a fantastic day indeed!
Food for thought is how it goes. Honestly though I really like soup for thought. Cool car, fun story.
Corrected!Well, in winter we could use some hot soup i guess hahaha Thanks for the feedback!